Hazbin Hotel: A Light Shining In Darkness
by Randomaneer123
Summary: After leaving Vegas several miles behind him, the Courier decides to become a wanderer. However, plans change when he finds himself waking up in a place far different from the Wasteland. While it's still covered in thieving killers, there's a sense of normalcy to it all. Will the Courier's light end up burning all of Hell itself? Or will he finally find peace? Probably not.
1. Chapter 1

In the middle of a barren desert somewhere in the American southwest, there sat a man. He was at a campfire that was currently cooking small hunks of meat, with a small tent erected behind him. He was wearing a strange uniform, which had a long trench coat that had a set of sturdy looking shoulder guards on it. The coat itself went past the man's knees. On said knees were hefty looking kneepads, and while they were covered in several scratches, they still looked sturdy enough to stop a bullet. Aside from that, he had a pair of long, black boots extending down from the kneepads. He also had a pair of forearm guards, similar looking to his knee and shoulder pads. Finally, the most striking feature was the helmet he wore. It was similar to that of a soldiers, yet it seemed to be fused with a gas mask that covered the man's face, with only a pair of red lenses letting him see into the outside world.

He currently examined the surrounding desert around him, seeing if there was anything of use nearby. He saw a few cacti, but didn't bother with them, as the meat sizzling on the campfire was much more appetizing. Speaking of, it was almost done. After giving it another moment to finish cooking, the man took the meal off of the fire, and gently lifted his helmet, only enough for his mouth to be visible, before he quickly began to feast on the meat. Soon enough, it was all gone, gobbled down by the man. With the meal gone, the man began to look around again, the light of the moon above helping him see.

"Guess the Cateye wasn't too worth it..." He said with a tired sigh, before looking up, staring at the moon in wonder.

There was a strange sensation that passed over him as he looked up at the celestial body. He'd seen it countless times before, thousands, even, yet only a fair few times had he ever actually looked up at it. For a bright man who took great pleasure in surveying the world around him, it seemed what was beyond the planet was beyond him, in both interest, and what actually resided up beyond the stars. Maybe there were a few humans still left up there, unsure of the hell that the planet had become. Maybe there were aliens, I mean, there were those strange green men he'd encountered a while back, or maybe even mutants or…

"I really need to stop thinking about this shit and get some rest." Growled the man, before he went to lay down in his tent, snuffing out the fire with sand and dirt as he did. He soon was laying in his tiny tent, with him growling as he felt rocks and sticks digging into his back. Thankfully, his jacket and the tent itself kept him from becoming too uncomfortable, yet still, he longed for the mattresses that they had in the Lucky 38. It almost made him want to go back to Vegas… almost.

No, he couldn't go back yet. Not for him being locked out of it, but because he was an explorer. He was a true Wanderer, as one would say. Something deep inside of the man kept him from ever truly settling down. He didn't know if it was because he'd gotten a good chunk of his brain blown out or what, but he supposed that didn't matter now. Soon enough, he slowly began to drift off into a form of sleep. A faint part of him still remained aware of his surroundings, as one couldn't afford to be a heavy sleeper in the Wasteland. He was just about out of it, when he heard the faint sounds of footsteps sound outside.

Instantly his eyes shot open, and he quickly, but silently reached down, and drew his pistol. It was a revolver, and a damn fine one at that. It was ornately decorated with several vine-like patterns covering it. On the grip was a bear standing on its hindlegs, and on the barrel itself "For Honorable Service," and "Against All Tyrants" adorned it.

The man then quietly got into a crouching position as he saw something step in front of his tent. Slowly but surely unzipping said tent. He waited, feeling tense. He debated on firing for several seconds, and held his breath. However, after a moment, the thin layer of cloth between him and the intruder fell, and instantly the man saw the figure was holding a knife.

The night was lit up with a gunshot, and the raider flew backwards, his head now adorned with a new hole as the man in armor rolled out of the tent, seeing three more raiders surrounding him.

"What the fuck!?" Shouted one, a female. "How the hell is the NCR this far East?"

"Who cares, kill hi-" A male attempted to reorganize the group, however, his head quickly exploded into gore as he aimed his own pistol at the armored wanderer. The armored man then quickly unloaded two more shots, as the last two raiders rushed him down. They all dropped and the man himself reloaded the revolver, before quickly checking the raiders. He only found a few things that were worth taking, that being several bullets and bottle caps.

The armored man sighed, as he stopped his looting and looked at the dead raiders surrounding him. "Well fuck... Hope there aren't more of them." He said as he began to wonder anew. He wondered what happened the people after death. For a man who was surrounded by killing, he only ever thought about it deeply on only a few occasions. Killing had become a mere normal part of life to him and most others in the Wasteland, yet… was there anything after death? He knew Joshua preached about a place called Heaven and Hell… He'd heard several other myths as well in pre-war books and such, with the Underworld and Mount Olympus being mentioned, as well as several others. He wondered if these beliefs held any truth. He wasn't a religious person, as he never really had time to think of things such as that, yet with this free time, he pondered on it, strangely enough.

Eventually, he shook himself out of his stupor, and soon dug shallow grave for the raiders, before tossing them in. With that task done, the man soon reentered his tent, and tried to get some more sleep, several questions still going through his mind as he drifted off into a restless sleep…

If the man knew what would happen next, there'd be a chance he would've just made himself a cup of coffee, packed his tent, and wandered off up until he reached the nearest settlement, even if it was a few miles away, he still might've done it… Or maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't care, as the strangeness of the situation he was about to find himself in might not be all that strange for a man who's fought giant mutated chameleons, batshit insane robots hellbent on doing as many experiments as possible before their clocks gave out, a new government based off of the ancient Romans, and tiny green men that may or may not have been aliens.

No… perhaps the man was just used to it at this point, as after all, Couriers must meet a lot of different people, and he was no exception.

Regardless of the would haves and wouldn't haves, what DID happen was the wastelander fell asleep, and when he woke up… well… things weren't quite right, to say the least…

* * *

_Somewhere a long ways away..._

Charlie groaned as she sat up in her bed, stretching and yawning as she did. The princess was normally quite graceful in her actions, but now she came off as exhausted, which was reasonable, as for the past few days she'd been dealing with the launch of the Happy (Now Hazbin) Hotel. While business wasn't exactly booming, she did still have to deal with the antics of her guests, namely Alastor and Angel Dust, though it was mostly Angel Dust, as every time she'd have a potential guest, they'd either be scared off, or would just treat the place like a whore house. Those types of demons were swiftly dealt with, but still, it left the princess feeling saddened at the lack of interest in redemption. Regardless, she still continued on, determination forcing her through each failure.

She quickly showered and dressed herself, as she had a long day of advertising her hotel ahead of her. If the demons wouldn't come to her, she'd just go to them! With a small pep in her step she soon left the hotel, walking by a passed out Angel Dust as she did. He definitely wasn't a morning person, as she'd often find him sleeping well into the afternoon, but what else could be expected of a night walker? Still, she wished he wouldn't pass out on the floor so often. Aside from just that, it seemed Vaggie herself was also sleeping in, as she'd been helping Charlie advertise all day yesterday. Regardless, she grabbed a handful of business cards and left, ready to bring redemption to any demon she'd come across, even if she was alone.

A large, buff looking demon was her first target. "Hello sir, I'm Charlie and-" He casually walked past her without even looking downwards.

Next was a slender, attractive looking female demon. "Hi! I'm Charl-" Same response.

There were several imps walking bye, and Charlie quickly shoved a handful of cards into the leader's face, giving a massive smile as she did. He quickly snatched it from her and read over it.

"Come to Hazbin Hotel! Where all of your sins are replaced with wins..."

The rest of the card was covered in pink hearts, and smiley faces. The imp looked up at Charlie, who gave a massive smile back. His only response was to shred it while looking into her eyes, before dropping it and walking away with the other imps.

Charlie didn't watch them leave, as her smile instantly turned upside down. She sighed as she continued on, her pace now a fair bit slower as she walked through the crowded streets of Hell.

* * *

_An alleyway nearby_

The armored man growled, feeling a strange sense of coldness surrounding him as he did. It wasn't the iciness of the night time desert, no, this felt different. It was the feeling of wet pavement pressing up against his back. Even through his clothes he could feel it, and it felt rather strange. It was a sensation he'd never expect in the Wasteland… Wait! Wasteland? He shouldn't even be anywhere close to a city, or pavement, or anything for that matter!

He instantly shot up into a sitting position as his eyes shot open, only for him to see two strange creatures hovering over him. They were small, likely only coming up to his waist if he was standing up. As it was, they were just a bit above eye level with him as he sat there. Aside from that they had a deep red skin and what looked to be pre-war clothing covering them, with them wearing simple t-shirts and jeans. Now, he might've been a bit lenient on them had they currently not be rifling through his pockets.

"Uh… heeeeeeeeey..." Managed one, before he instantly got a boot to the face, sending him flying all the way out of the alley the armored figure had now found himself in. He screamed as he flew.

* * *

_Back with Charlie._

"I just wish that I could make everyone listen... Even if briefly… Maybe… maybe if I had an angel on my side, everyone would listen..." She pondered. She herself didn't ever expect to get an angel's help, as they were always busy with Heaven and its various issues, but even then, she wanted someone, ANYONE to help her redeem as many demons as possible. Someone like-minded, someone with as much determination as her. Someone like-

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

She quickly had to duck out of the way as an imp flew past her out from an alleyway. She quickly looked to see the imp slam into the road, and skidded several feet before a car instantly crushed it under its tires. She turned back to see who had thrown the small demon, only to see a figure in an extremely long trench coat holding up another demon by his neck. The figure looked masculine, given how muscular it seemed despite the several layers of armor and clothing it had on. The man himself glared menacingly at the demon in his grasp, before slamming its head into the brick wall behind it, knocking the imp out, before the man dropped its limp body to the floor.

The man then looked at Charlie, and the glowing red eyes of his mask made her flinch, before he walked towards her. She was about ready to either fight or flee, however, he merely nodded at her.

"Sorry about that, ma'am." He said, before walking off down the street, before quickly turning the nearest corner and disappearing from Charlie's sight. The demon princess just stood there in extreme confusion, though it wasn't from the violence the man had displayed.

Instead, it was from his manners.


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright, Six… you've woken up in some weird ass red place filled with weird… what were those… mutations?" The man, now known as Six, questioned himself as he turned the corner, leaving the female demon behind him. He quickly examined his surroundings as several cars and such passed by, making him pause. The cars themselves looked a bit different from the old husks he'd seen in his wasteland adventures.

They were… A bit primitive looking? He couldn't quite get the words right, as he wasn't exactly a car expert. Something was off about them, though. He shook his head to both get his mind off of it, and get rid of his remaining dizziness from just waking up. He balanced himself against a nearby wall, with him taking deep breaths as he did.

"Damn, either I was drugged and brought here… or..." He pulled out the Transportalponder, a relic from the Big MT. "Maybe this thing's malfunctioning..." He then quickly pointed the strange device upwards and pulled the trigger… Nothing happened.

He sighed and then he pulled it again… Nada.

So, he pulled it once again… Nope.

Finally, he gave up with an annoyed growl.

"Well shit." He growled before shoving it back into his coat, letting it vanish into his night infinite arsenal. "Alright… maybe I should just look around first, listen in on where the hell I am..." He said, before quickly walking off, keeping his pace normal looking, yet quite quick, given the type of man he was.

As he walked he saw various inhabitants of this place, with some being as short as those things he'd put down back in the alleyway, or as tall as a Super Mutant, and just as muscular as well. Some had a deep red skin, others were blue. Some had fur, and several only had one eye. Many of them had horns, but a few of them resembled animals, ranging from sharks to goats, and even hyenas.

"Strange… guess this might be some sort of hub for mutants… doesn't explain the cars though." He wondered how anything like this could ever exist in the wasteland. Sure, there might've been a few brawls here and there as he walked on, and sure, no one was doing anything about it, but aside from the apparent lack of a police force, things almost seemed… peaceful. Well, as peaceful as it got anyways.

Six was never one for discrimination against mutations, as he made it a point to help Super Mutants and Ghouls as if they were any other human. Seeing a relatively… working society filled with nonhumans made him smile a bit, as it faintly reminded him of the likes of Broken Hills, Jacobstown, and Necropolis. While he'd only heard stories of Broken Hills and Necropolis, knowing that mutations could function just as well as humans made him hesitant to think of them as anything less. Now if only Broken Hills and Necropolis were still around…

He shook himself from his thoughts, as he was getting sidetracked again. As much as he enjoyed the history of the Wasteland, he needed to figure out more about this new place he'd wound up in. He then looked up for the first time…

And immediately noticed the red sky and massive pentagram.

"WHAT THE FU-"

* * *

_Hazbin Hotel, a few hours later._

Angel Dust groaned as he felt a boot to the back, he instantly knew it was Vaggie without even looking back.

"Get up." Her voice growled, as he sighed and obliged, getting himself into a sitting position, before feeling the dried saliva covering his cheek. He quickly began to rub it off as he complained.

"Oh come on, it's not that late..." He complained as he stretched, putting his feminine body on display for Vaggie, who just narrowed her eye.

"It's like, two thirty, you idiot!" She responded.

"Yeah, exactly!" He said with a tired chuckle, before quickly rose to his feet. "I shouldn't have to be up until five." He winked, making Vaggie growl in annoyance.

"Look, I'm sick and tired of these allnighters you're pulling, Charlie has been working her ass off to make this place work, and I'm losing sleep going out and looking for your stupid ass every other night!" She hissed, before Angel Dust shrugged.

"Hey, it's not EVERY other night, it's like… every three nights." He corrected, before he felt a spear press into his fluffy chest.

"Give me one good reason not to." She threatened.

He looked at the spear, and then sighed. "Alright, fine, tell you what, tonight will be my last allnighter. One last night on the town before I get to this whole… redemption thing."

"What? No! You're not going anywhere tonight!" Vaggie responded.

"Sorry toots, but that's how it's gonna be, see you tomorrow!" Angel quickly said, before rushing off quicker than Vaggie could react, leaving old dust to get kicked up in her face, making her sputter and cough.

"ANGEEEEEEELLLL!" She roared as her vision cleared, but her target was now long gone.

* * *

_Several blocks away._

"Alright, weird big ass star in the sky… shit I still haven't gotten over that… Maybe they have… a weird hologram projecting it… yeah… just… focus on the small things, Six." Growled the man as he then turned and spotted an odd sight.

Six watched as an imp ordered an odd type of drug from what reminded him of a Nuka Cola vending machine. The money that the little demon used seemed to be similar to NCR Dollars, or the relatively rare pre-war cash that Six would occasionally find. The demon itself soon walked away with a massive bag of white powder, before the Courier walked up to examine the vending machine.

DRUGS was the only thing that adorned it, though as the Courier read off what specific drugs were in it, he couldn't find anything recognizable.

"Coke? Bojack? Angel Dust?" He said to himself in confusion. "Guess getting Stimpaks and Radaway is gonna be a bit of a bitch here. Well, at least I still got a good supply." He said to himself, before he felt a tap on the shoulder, and turned, coming face to face with a white, fuzzy creature. Said creature had sharp teeth, and several blotches of pink on his face here and there, with one of his eyes being completely black, contrasting with his fur and his other white eye.

"Hey buddy," He began, in an accent that reminded Six of those mobsters up in New Reno. "I really don't feel like standing around all day, so could you please get the hell out of my way?" He growled in a rushed tone.

Six stepped aside and continued to examine him, finding that the creature had an extra pair of arms, and was currently wearing a striped suit and bowtie. His body was feminine, and had Six not heard him speak he'd mistake this creature for a girl.

"What're ya looking at, want a piece of this?" Flirted the spider-like creature, even going as far as to rub his fluffy chest seductively.

Ah… drug addicted prostitute...

"Maybe later." Replied Six with disinterest, before he then turned and walked away.

"Eh, your loss." Said the spider as he left.

Guess every society has to have hookers. Well, it wasn't like Six was judging, considering he'd helped one get back into the prostitution business not that long ago, but still, he didn't expect it here. Regardless, he continued on, examining every minute aspect he could about this strange new society. The buildings reminded him of what New Vegas must've been like when it stood before the war, with large, neon signs displaying the words "Demon" and "Hell."

While Six wasn't a religious man, he himself did know a bit about demons, those being monsters that resided in Hell, tormenting sinners for all eternity after they die and whatnot. Was this society based on that concept? Maybe they'd read the Bible or some scraps of it laying around here and there? Perhaps they based their society off of it? It wouldn't be the weirdest thing he'd seen, considering the Legion based itself off of ancient Rome. Still though, it was certainly a surprise.

What still got to him however, was the massive floating star. What even was it? Maybe… a beacon to other cities and such… yeah. Yeah it was probably just a massive holographic beacon that helped travelers find their way to this place… And nothing else… No magic here...

Six didn't plan on thinking about it much, lest he break his enhanced brain.

* * *

_Awhile later._

Charlie sighed sadly as she sat on a bench in Hell's equivalent to a park, with various strange looking birds and such fluttering around here as she attempted to hold back tears. Another day of nothing but rude comments and a lack of interest in redemption. She took this time to clear her head, looking up at the pentagram in the sky, and the strange looking moon with a massive halo over it far beyond Hell.

She sighed, as every time she looked at Heaven, she could only think of how much better it must've been than this place. Even if she was a resident born in Hell, no one could deny how much of a hellhole (Pun not intended) it was, not even the most optimistic of demons. As she sat there, she continued to ponder over the hotel.

Would it even work? Could she actually change anyone? Can-

Her thoughts were cut off when suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over to see a large, muscular demon standing behind her. His skin was a deep red, and he gave her a smile, showing a series of sharpened teeth.

"What's with the long face, doll?" He asked, his smile not faltering as he looked over the demoness his eyes were predatory, but that was common, though Charlie did keep her guard up, she still kept her optimism as well.

"Oh!" Charlie saw a potential guest for Hazbin despite her weariness. "Well, I was saddened because no one wanted to redeem themselves at my hotel, but maybe you could change that?" She said, offering the demon a card. He just continued to stare at her, making her feel awkward. She quickly looked around, only to see that the park she was in was now mostly empty.

"Uh… sir?" She questioned, and finally, the demon looked her in the face, with him even licking his lips as he did.

"Well, I don't care about any hotel, but how about you come back to my place?" He said.

"No thanks." Charlie said, before quickly moving to get up, however, she felt him instantly wrap his massive arm around her neck, gagging her as she looked up, still seeing him smiling as he did.

"Well, that wasn't an offer." He responded.

"Let go of me!" Shouted Charlie, before she gave the demon several hard elbows to the gut. He grunted, and for once his smile dropped as he then yanked Charlie backwards over the bench and slammed her into the ground, making her shout in pain as he pinned her neck to the ground with his massive hand.

"Alright, bitch, now we're doing it the hard way." He said, as he began to tug at her clothing with his free hand, his other keeping her pinned even as she kicked and scratched at him. She was about to light the bastard on fire, with her pyrokinesis. But fate it seemed had decided something else, as she herself wouldn't need to do much.

Suddenly amid the struggling, a fist slammed into the side of the large demon's face, sending him tumbling off Charlie as he gave a growl of pain. She quickly got into a sitting position as she rubbed her sore neck, looking up to see two red lenses staring down at her. Strangely, despite the initially terrifying presence of the man, she felt a sense of safety.

"You alright?" Asked the man, and she nodded, before he looked back to see the demon stumbling to his feet, four holes were now in his cheek, and blood quickly began gushing from them as Six smiled, raising his fists to reveal he was wearing spiked knuckle dusters. One had "HATE" embossed onto it, and the other had "LOVE" on it, though the HATE was partially covered in blood.

Six just casually began approaching the demon, who himself rushed at Six, before swinging. Six just jerked backwards, letting the demon's fist fly by him, before he rushed forwards and slammed LOVE right into the demon's gut, making the demon lurch over and gag. The man then delivered several more punches to the monster's stomach, each one sending the demon stumbling back, before the Courier finished the combo with a hard uppercut, making the demon roar in pain, as he felt his jaw shatter from the blow. The demon dropped to a knee, his vision now a bit blurry from the force of the smaller man's blows, likely due to the man's immense Strength.

"I would fuck off if I were you." Growled Six, offering the demon an out. His voice sounded rather dry and scratchy as well, like he hadn't had water in days.

The demon just narrowed his eyes in response and reached for his belt, before pulling out a pistol. The armored man just sighed, and showed off his Agility as he rushed down the demon quicker than anyone would expect, before knocking the gun out of the large monster's hand. Only one shot went off, with the bullet flying harmlessly into the air. Six himself however, quickly pulled out a small pistol that seemed to glow despite the natural darkness of hell.

It was a pistol similar to the M1911, though it had a snakeskin grip, and was rather small, however, aside from the glowing, its other most prominent feature were the Greek letters etched into it.

"καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει" was on the right, and on the left was "καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν." Or together, they made, "The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not."

The demon instantly felt frozen. No matter how much he wanted to try to grab at the small man that had humiliated him, that gun seemed to completely freeze him. It was an odd sense of fear. Something like one would expect from an animal being chased by its natural predator. This was a primordial sense of terror that only one would experience when they're… well, fucked, to crudely say the least.

And it seemed the demon himself wasn't the only one to feel this, as even Charlie herself cringed as she gazed at the pistol. It was… foreign, for lack of a better term. The princess felt as if it shouldn't have been in Hell. If anything, it gave her the anxiety of looking at an exterminator weapon, but it was also a bit different at the same time. She couldn't describe how it was wrong, but she damn sure _felt_ it.

All of these thoughts went through her head in a matter of seconds, as the second the gun was drawn and aimed at the big demon's head, the smaller man had pulled the trigger, and the demon's head exploded, with the bullet carving through his skull like a hot knife through butter. The demon's body fell backwards, and slammed into the ground like a sack of potatoes. The man then turned towards Charlie, who flinched backwards on instinct, ready to defend herself.

"Woah, woah, it's alright." Said the man, his voice becoming extremely soft despite its scratchiness as he quickly put the gun back into his holster. "See, I'm not gonna hurt ya." He said, as the demon princess looked him over in curiosity.

He almost reminded her of Tom Trench, with the gas mask and such, though the man in front of her was a fair bit more intimidating, considering the glowing red lenses and lack of sex jokes. Aside from that though, he was covered in sand, and now, thanks to the demon he'd just slain, blood, adding to the fear factor.

But Charlie being Charlie, swallowed her fear, and spoke. "I thank you for saving me, mister...?"

"Uh… Six... Courier Six is fine." He responded, giving a nod.

"Hmm, I'll assume that's the name you chose for yourself after you wound up in Hell?" Charlie asked, giving a smile as she approached the man.

"Er… no, it's just what I'm called now." He said, before quickly continuing. "Look, I'm not attempting to rush here, but I would like to know where I am. My Pip-Boy has been out of whack since I got here." He said, before checking his Pip-Boy 3000. He'd examined it earlier, and found that while Stats and such were displayed properly, the map on the wrist mounted computer was now useless, displaying only an error message with the frowning face of Vault Boy taking up a majority of the screen.

"Pip… Boy?" Charlie repeated, looking at the strange device as he showed his wrist to her. It sort of reminded her of a Hellphone, and the few Smartwatches she'd seen from the human realm on occasion only this strange device was far more clunky. It was like something she'd expect if the 50s had tried their luck at making modern tech.

"I guess you don't have those here." He responded, quickly pulling away. "But, do you know which country we're in? America? Canada? Mexico?" He asked.

"Sir… you're in Hell." She responded in an unsure tone.

"Yeah, I know, this place is called Hell, but where am I?" He continued, not getting it.

"No, no. You're in Hell. Like… THE Hell." She responded, making him just stare at her. "You know… the mythological Hell?" She offered, making him just stand there.

"Al-alright… I… don't remember dying… but I'm in Hell..." He said, sounding dazed. It was a far cry from his formerly calm tone. "I guess that explains the star..."

"It's a pentagram, actually." Charlie said, making him give a faint nod.

"Well, I gotta say, even though we went through a nuclear war, this place isn't as crowded as I thought." He offered, attempting to wrap his brain around the situation.

"What war?" Charlie asked.

"You know… when China and America nuked each other? In 2077" He said, only to have her shake her head in response, she was almost as confused as him.

"It's 2019, sir." She said, and his shoulders seemed to droop, before he walked past Charlie, who now looked concerned. Courier Six then took a seat at the base of a tree, and didn't move, as he rested his head backwards, and looked up at the sky.

He wanted to sleep, but he had too much adrenaline coursing through his veins.

He wanted to scream, but his lungs failed him as he took quiet, shallow breaths.

As it was, he just sat there, unsure, as Charlie soon moved over to the dazed and confused man. She spoke, but he didn't hear her words, he barely even saw her, as a matter of fact, as he had extreme tunnel vision, though it was focused on nothing. Finally, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and let out a grunt of surprise as he jerked his head towards it, finding it to be Charlie's.

"Sir, would you like a place to stay?" She asked, with him finally hearing. He looked at her kind, smiling face as his tunnel vision finally relaxed. "At least just until you get your bearings?"

He pondered for a few seconds, remaining completely still as he did. Finally, he made up his mind and gave the demoness a nod, as his voice was failing him. He stood up, and Charlie helped him get his footing, as the two began to make their way to Hazbin. All the way there, the Courier was half delirious, with the "sane" half of him questioning his sanity all the while. However, Charlie managed to keep him faintly grounded in reality. Assuming if she was even real.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hazbin Hotel?... Kind of an odd name." Said the Courier, looking up at the sign of what would likely be his new home. In the walk through the city, he'd managed to calm himself down, and get a grip on his current predicament. Being in Hell, in an alternate universe, in the past were concepts that only a few men could take, especially at the same time, however, the Courier was definitely one of those men, even if he was still a bit jittery.

"It used to be the Happy Hotel." Charlie responded with a chuckle. "Up until Alastor changed it."

"Alastor." Six said, pondering the name. "What's he like?" Asked the Courier, and Charlie seemed rather hesitant to respond.

"Well, he's… hard to explain. He's one of the most feared demons in all of Hell." She explained, making the Courier's ears perk up. "He's powerful enough to make even the other Overlords of this place scared."

"Overlord… Wouldn't Satan be the only king of this place?" Asked the Courier.

"He's the king… but there's dozens of other demons around here trying to make a name for themselves. To the point where they're willing to completely wipe out smaller groups to gain more power." She explained with sadness in her voice.

"Sounds too familiar for my liking..." The Courier said with distaste.

"You've… dealt with something like this?" She asked.

"Sort of." He said, pausing. The Courier remained as still as a statue, almost as if he was pondering continuing. "Ever hear of the Romans?"

"Well, yeah, though there's not a lot of demons from that time period knocking around here today." She said.

"Well all you need to know is someone put their own spin on them… and now I really, REALLY don't like thinking about the Romans anymore." Six said, making Charlie confused at both the vagueness of his words and the sheer oddness of them. Romans? After 2077? Regardless, she didn't press, as he continued his questioning.

"So, you said there aren't too many ancient demons kicking around here anymore." He said, changing the subject. "Why's that."

"Well…" It was Charlie's turn to pause, thinking on what exactly to say. "Every year Heaven unleashes a swarm of angels on Hell. They..."

"Commit controlled genocide." He guessed bluntly, but sympathetically, getting a sad nod from the demoness. The Courier sighed. "Guess even the most magical of places have to deal with the same issues humans do… But with all of this violence, you'd think that the population would even itself out." He pondered.

"No." Charlie said, shaking her head. "You need very specific weapons to destroy demons. Exterminator class weapons are what the angels use. Otherwise a demon soon reforms back, a few hours, or even days to weeks later."

"Huh… so that asshole back in the park. Think he'll be back?" Asked the Courier.

"I… don't know. I'd say yes but that pistol you shot him with… May I see it?" She asked, before the Courier shrugged and pulled out the Light Shining in Darkness. Charlie instinctively flinched back at the sight of the weapon, causing the Courier to quickly holster it.

"No!" She said. "I'm… I'm fine." He reluctantly nodded, and pulled out his weapon again. He went to hand Charlie the pistol, however, the second she touched it, she let loose a hiss of pain, and jerked her hand back, biting her lip as she did. She looked at her fingers to find they were now red, like she'd touched her hand to a stove.

"You alright?" Asked the concerned Courier, quickly taking a look at her fingers.

"It's fine." She said, gently pulling away. "We demons are tough… even against holy weapons like that..."

"Holy?" He asked, looking over the pistol.

"I don't know if it's the engravings, or what, but that pistol is powerful enough to kill most demons for good." She explained. "Did you make it?"

"No… it's previous owner was..." The Courier paused. "The most religious man I think I've ever met… when it comes to Christianity at least."

"That explains it." Charlie said. "I'm not a massive expert on all the different types of Exterminator weapons, but yours seems to be similar to some of them, though typically a demon can wield them with ease, others have so much holiness in them that they can hurt a demon regardless, even if said demon is kindhearted or noble."

"So I'm a one man judge, jury, and executioner now." Said the Courier. "Looks like things really haven't changed." He continued with a saddened sigh.

"I don't know how you can hold that thing, but it must mean you're special somehow." Charlie said. "I don't know how you wound up here, but maybe you were meant to be an angel!" She offered with a faint sense of child-like excitement in her voice. This made the man shake his head.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but… I'm not going to walk around calling myself an angel. I don't think demon even properly fits me… but it's damn sure a lot closer than an angel." Charlie remained silent after that, giving the man a solemn nod.

"Six… regardless of whatever you are, whatever you do… please just promise me one thing." She said, her tone just as solemn as her demeanor.

"Yeah?" He responded.

"Please don't use that weapon on anyone that doesn't deserve it." She pleaded.

He turned, looking at her for a moment, as he remained silent. After a few moments, he pulled out a small cloth bag, before taking the Light. He took the magazine out of the pistol, and made sure that there wasn't a bullet in the chamber, before he gently dropping the small weapon into the bag and handed it to a now surprised Charlie.

"Just… do with it what you think needs doing." He said, complete trust in his voice. "I understand you might not want something like that kicking around a place like this. If any assholes get too big for their boots, I've got a hell of a lot more than that to put them in their place."

Charlie nodded, still surprised at the man's complete willingness to hand her what was very much likely one of the strongest weapons in Hell without even putting up a fuss. Her only response was to give the man a surprise hug. The Courier didn't really know how to respond, thus he just gave her a few awkward pats on the back. Charlie noted this, and felt a sense of sadness. The Courier must not have been the person to get hugs often.

Soon enough the two broke off the one sided hug and entered the Hotel, with the Courier immediately noting that the place looked a bit vacant. Normally when thinking of a hotel, he thought of Vault 21, but this place was a ghost building by comparison. He did find a bar nearly instantly though, almost making him chuckle, though the creature behind said bar reminded him of something the Big MT would've cooked up.

It was a winged anthropomorphic husky, with a small top hat and tie. Said wings themselves also had various symbols covering them. Spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds… The Courier got the vibes of a gambler off of the creature. He was used to seeing gamblers and such, though the creature's appearance did make him pause, albeit briefly.

"That's Husk!" Said Charlie with excitement, with the demon just giving an annoyed roll of the eyes as he didn't so much as wave. The Courier didn't have time to ponder the winged demon much longer, as he heard a high-pitched, feminine voice shout.

"Goodness sir, your clothes are filthy!" The Courier looked around, and then finally, downwards to see a tiny demon that came up just below his waist. She had only one eye, which reminded Six of the ancient myth of the cyclops he'd read about in a few pre-war books.

She had a bright pink dress with the silhouette of a poodle on it. Along with that, she wore a white shirt with a few pink splotches on them. She then quickly rushed over to the Courier with a feather duster and wet rag. The Courier himself actually jumped out of the way of the small demon, before quickly grabbing her by both of her wrists as she ran at him again.

"Sorry kid, but no one touches the armor except for me." He said, trying to sound as nice as possible.

"B-But…" The tiny demon said, before Charlie cut in.

"Sorry Niffty, he's a new arrival. Just give him some time and he might come around." Said Charlie with a smile, causing the tiny demon, now known as Niffty to nod sadly before she quickly wandered off deeper into the hotel.

"Odd group you have here. Kinda familiar, honestly." Mused the Courier.

"I assume you've had a group of mismatched friends before?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah... " Said the Courier, giving a small sigh of sadness. "I wish they would've stuck together, even for a bit longer, but I suppose that's how all groups work. Everyone has their own problems, and eventually have to go their own ways. That's just life."

Charlie frowned at that, though remained silent. Suddenly though, she remembered who exactly she was missing from this introduction.

"Hey, wait, where's Angel and Vaggie?" She said, looking around.

"Saw Angel leave a few hours ago, Vaggie chased after him." Husk said simply and uncaringly, before downing a shot of hard whiskey.

"Oh great." Sighed the demoness. "Now I'm gonna have to go all over the city looking for them!"

"I could track them down for you." Said the Courier, getting Charlie to look at him in thought.

"I'd consider saying yes, but you don't have any idea where they'd be." She said.

"Just give me a bit of basic info." Six said, assuredly. "I've got a bit of a knack for finding people who don't want to be found."

Charlie thought it over for a moment before she nodded and pulled out a set of pictures before handing them to Six, who quickly looked them over. He found one of the pictures in question to be of the spider he'd seen earlier, and the other of a dark gray-skinned woman, with a bright red 'X' over where her left eye should've been.

"Your friends list just keeps getting weirder." Said the Courier with a smile under his helmet. "I like it. Makes me feel… at home."

* * *

_A bar nearby._

Angel Dust sighed, leaning back in his chair as he did. This had been the fifth bar of the night, and that crazy broad had been chasing him all day. Now he was stuck in this nearly empty shithole, with no potential customers in sight. Said shithole was one of the least fancy places he'd been in, and that's saying something, with practically every single table in the joint being chipped and scratched to hell. The chairs were wobbly, with the legs not being all the same size, and the lighting was poor, with the humm of cheap wiring making the demon nearly go mad with boredom. He'd almost considered just returning to the hotel, but it was the principle of the matter that kept him here. He'd had a few drinks, but now he'd finally just gotten a buzz.

He downed another shot of the cheap stuff and sighed, leaning back further, extending his slender, feminine body as he propped himself up on the chair. However, this proved to be a mistake, as his wobbly chair soon gave out, and he was sent tumbling backwards into the table right behind him. Said table just so happened to be occupied by several large, muscular demons.

Those large muscular demons were now covered in booze, as when Angel Dust hit the table, they had their cheap looking suits covered in the stuff, likely staining them. All of the demons growled and looked down to see a very flustered looking spider.

"Uhh… sorry?" Offered Angel with a smile, before quickly standing up, and pulling out his wallet. "Look, let me just give each of ya guys ten bucks apiece, huh? I mean those god awful suits couldn't have been more than that."

The demons growled in rage as they'd lost the little patience they'd had with that remark.

"Come on man, I'm not trying to start shit tonight." Angel Dust said as the burly demons surrounded him.

"Too late for that." Said a massive, muscular one as he towered over the lanky spider, with a massive, beefy hand soon tightly grabbing onto one of Angel's wrists.

"You'd better let me go." Growled the white furred demon, ready to reach for one of the many guns he had stashed on himself.

"I'd listen to him." Said a new voice, butting into the conversation. The demon actually let Angel go and turned to see the Courier standing several feet away. Angel Dust instantly recognized the man he'd met a few hours earlier, though he now questioned what he was doing here.

"This doesn't involve you, asshole." Growled the demon. "You'd better fuck off before you get hurt."

"Can't we all just have a pint and be friends?" Asked the Courier with a smile under his mask as the demons began to surround him instead, with them taking their attention off of Angel. Six then pulled out and began to chug an entire Nuka Cola. Well, chug is a generous term, it was more like the Courier was letting the sweet substance seep through the filters in his gas mask. He looked like a lunatic as the deep brown liquid was soon running down his neck and shoulders. Even Angel Dust raised an eyebrow at the armored man.

One demon had enough of the man's antics and went to reach for him, only for Six to turn and bash the empty bottle against the demon's head with enough force to shatter it, leaving the red skinned creature's face covered in glass. He screamed in pain as the shards sunk deep into his skin, before the Courier pulled out a little gift he'd gotten from the Courier's Mile. It was a Bowie knife known simply as Blood-Nap. Six then silenced the demon with a swift yet powerful knife slash to the neck.

Blood spewed from the demon's beefy neck like a geyser, and soon coated the Courier's helmet and upper chest in redness before the demon's body fell backwards. Another demon quickly snapped out of his shock, and reached to pull out his gun, only to get a knife through his hand, making him roar in pain. The Courier then grabbed the demon by the wrist and yanked him into a headbutt, which both broke the monster's nose and knocked him out at the same time. The Courier then pulled the knife from the demon's hand, and turned, before smiling as the remaining demons growled, with each and every one of them pulling out pistols as they did.

The Courier was about ready to rush them down despite their perceived ranged advantage, however, it seemed he was beaten to the punch as suddenly several bullets flew towards the group of pissed off demons, downing one of them before the others quickly scattered, kicking up tables and such for cover. The Courier turned to see who'd fired the shots, only to find Angel Dust had now pulled out a Tommy Gun.

"Well so much for conserving ammo." Said the Courier, before stashing away his knife and kicking over the table Angel Dust had sat at, allowing the two to duck behind it. As they did, the Courier wiped the blood from his eye lenses and pulled out a pump-action shotgun, with a forest camouflage finish on the stock and pump. Said shotgun was lovingly named Dinner Bell. He then began loading it with slugs.

"So who the hell are you?" Asked Angel as the Courier loaded his weapon, with the demon himself reloading.

"Charlie sent me. Wanted me to bring ya back to the hotel." Six responded.

"Wait, Charlie sent ya?" Angel Dust responded in surprise. "Damn, wouldn't take you as the type of person to help her out."

"World's full of surprises." Said Six, before he looked out from his cover, and fired. Instantly a table several yards away exploded into wood fragments, as the shotgun slug tore through both it, and the demon behind it. The damage towards the demon was so severe that the Courier could see right through his torso, with his ribcage and spine being completely destroyed by the Courier's powerful weapon. After a moment of shock, the demon dropped to the ground dead before the Courier ducked back under the table, avoiding several bullets as he did.

"So, got a name, hotstuff?" Angel asked with a toothy grin.

"Courier Six." Was the man's simple response.

"Uh… that it?" Was the spider's reply to the strange name.

"'Fraid so." The Courier shrugged, as he put another slug into Dinner Bell. He then waited, letting the bullets fade into the background as he listened for the click of a gun running out of ammo. After a few moments he heard one and leaped up from his cover, before shooting at the demon whose mag had run dry.

Said demon's head soon exploded into gore, with brain matter and chunks of skull painting the walls red. The demon's body twitched for a moment before dropping. The Courier then saw another demon rising from his own table to fire at him, only for said demon to be riddled with bullets from Angel Dust, before he too dropped dead. The Courier nodded to his white furred companion, and the duo ducked behind cover again, avoiding fire from the last two demons.

The Courier then decided to end this battle quickly, and rolled out of his cover, before firing several slugs from Dinner Bell at one of the remaining demons. One exploded the table he hid behind, forcing him to quickly get to his feet to rush out of the way, however, the Courier expected this, and smiled, as everything instantly began to slow, taking on an orangish glow.

V.A.T.S. had come into play.

"Got ya." Six said simply, as he targeted the demon's head.

The demon Six wasn't targeting saw as the Courier's fingers moved faster than he could react, causing two slugs to quickly launch towards his companion's head. The running demon didn't have a second to think before half of his brains were blown out the back of his head, leaving a hole in his head big enough for Six to fit his fist through it. The second shell missed, and exploded harmlessly into a wall somewhere behind the demon. The Courier didn't really care though, as that shot was merely a precaution.

The remaining demon then realized how fucked he was and quickly got to his feet, before rushing for the door, with him taking deep breaths all the while.

"Oh no you don't asshole!" Shouted Angel Dust, as he himself began to fire at the demon. However, he didn't need to, as the moment the big demon got to the exit door, a spear slammed straight through his chest, making the demon lurch over, before he was casually tossed aside by a familiar looking demon.

"Vaggie!?" Angel screamed upon seeing his pursuer.

"You son of a bitch!" Growled the spear master as she began to rush towards Angel, who let out a shout of surprise, and turned to run, only for him to be clotheslined by the Courier. Angel growled, looking up to see Six's red lenses looking back down at him.

"What the fuck, man?" Growled Angel.

"Can't risk you running off again." Said the Courier, before he suddenly picked up the spider demon and hoisted him over his shoulder. Vaggie herself paused as she watched this, and she didn't know whether to laugh, or confront the strange new arrival. Likewise, Angel didn't know if he should slap his abductor, or ask him for cash. As it was, he settled for halfheartedly struggling, though he found that the Courier's grip was stronger than he expected.

"I'm with Charlie." Said the Courier as he approached Vaggie. "Let's get back to the hotel."

That eased the spearwoman's mind, as she gave a nod. "So, what are you, a new arrival?" She asked in curiosity. "I don't think I've seen any mercenary like you before."

"New arrival? Yes. Mercenary though... I prefer the term vagabond." He said.

"Okay, we get it, you're a homeless nutjob." Angel Dust growled. "Can you please put me down now!?"

"No, I don't think I will." Was the Courier's simple response, making Vaggie chuckle as the trio left the bar in ruins, leaving an old, tired looking demon to sigh as he pulled out the mop and bucket to clean everything up.


	4. Chapter 4

Angel growled as he was casually tossed onto the nearest thing the Courier considered soft, that being an odd looking, red couch. Said couch had several pointy teeth dotted around between the cushions here and there. A few yellow eyeballs also were above the back pillows, and despite being part of the strange design, Six couldn't help but think those eyes were staring at him.

"You didn't have to carry me for that whole time, you know." Angel huffed, before getting a nod from the Courier.

"I know, that was just funner." He responded.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure carrying me in your big, strong arms is fun." Angel said with a smirk, stretching out on the couch and putting his feminine body on display.

"Sorry, I've got arachnophobia." Replied the wastelander with a chuckle.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Angel growled, flexing his many limbs. "These arms have brought about more pleasure than you ever could!"

"Maybe… But giving pleasure isn't my style." Agreed the Courier, before Vaggie cut into the conversation.

"Speaking of style, what's with the gas mask?" She asked. "If you're a recent arrival, I wouldn't expect you to look like you died to mustard gas in the trenches."

"It's a bit of a precaution." He admitted.

"Were you one of those over prepared survivalist types?" She asked casually.

The Courier felt the decades old MREs in one of the many pouches he kept under his jacket as he replied slowly. "Well… kinda."

"I'm not judging. We all have our hobbies, worries, and whatnot." Vaggie shrugged, getting a nod from the Courier as Charlie arrived, holding a key, which she quickly tossed at the Courier, who caught it with ease.

"Room 38." He mused to himself as he looked at the engraving on said key.

"It's one of the cleaner ones we have, since Niffty got to cleaning it recently." Charlie admitted. "Though we haven't gotten any new furniture for it yet."

"As long as it's got a mattress, it'll be perfect." Said the Courier as he popped his neck. Even with an enhanced spine, cramps were a nuisance he dealt with too commonly for his liking.

"Well... no promises on it being soft." Charlie said with an embarrassed smile. The Courier gave a shrug as he soon sat on the couch, making Angel Dust bunch up to give the wastelander room.

"Rude!" Angel said.

"Bite me." Responded the Courier, before pulling out a weathered old can from a small pouch within his trench coat. Said can had a dirty, faded logo, however, the demons could make out the words 'Pork N Beans' on it. Six quickly pulled out a small can opener and got to work on opening.

"Uh… We've got some food in the fridge." Vaggie offered, making the former mailman shake his head as he finished opening his meal.

"I don't want to be more of a drain than I already am." He said, as he pulled his helmet up just enough to expose the lower portion of his face. His skin was tanned though a bit paler than one would expect, likely due to him wearing his helmet so much. Aside from that he cracked, dry looking lips and a faint stubble growing in, though said stubble didn't hide the several scars covering his lower jaw. They weren't exactly big, with each one being no longer than an inch or so at best, yet there were still more than even the demons expected. He must've been in melee fights practically daily. However, the group didn't know whether to be more surprised at the scars, or the fact that his skin still looked like that of a living human's.

He also ate almost like an animal, with him scarfing down his meal as if he was on a time limit. Juices from the canned meat ran down his cheeks as he chewed wildly. Angel even got up and quickly walked away, lest his white coat being splattered by the juices of the Pork N Beans. All in all it was only a bit over ten seconds before the Courier was finished. He quickly wiped away the remnants of his meal with the back of his glove before readjusting his helmet, putting his spoon back in his pocket, and finding the nearest trash bin to toss the can in.

"Well, I hope you two don't mind but I think I'm going to retire for the night." Said the Courier, before quickly leaving for his room, leaving Vaggie and Charlie alone.

"You… saw that right?" Asked Vaggie. "His skin tone. It looked… kind of like he was still alive."

"Yes but that's… impossible. Or at least it should be." Charlie said quickly, unsure of what to think of the Courier now.

"Well apparently it's not." Vaggie said. "He might not've ended up here naturally, you know. I remember there's that one company… I think they were called I.M.P. or something. Anyways, they've been going around, advertising their services to go to the human world and kill practically anyone. Think he might've been a target?"

"I doubt it. We would've known about it by now." Charlie said. "Maybe there was a summoning accident that brought him here. Besides, unless they caught him off guard, I don't think they'd be targeting Six, and I doubt a group as incompetent as I.M.P. could do that."

"So what do you think he is then?" Vaggie asked, raising the eyebrow over her remaining eye.

"I… don't know. He might be delirious. When I first met him he was talking about a nuclear war in the year 2077." Charlie said. "Maybe a shell shocked soldier?"

"So we have a shell shocked, time traveling, post apocalyptic, survivalist soldier on our hands?" Vaggie asked. Despite the insane concept sounding like it came from a sci-fi B-movie from the 1950s, she didn't find herself laughing.

"That or he's just extremely confused." Charlie said with compassion. "Either way, I've got to help him. Even if he can survive on the streets out there, if demons found out he's human… I don't see it going well for anyone. They'll just throw themselves at him for as long as they want. But if he were to die, who knows where he'll end up." The princess sighed, rubbing her eyelids as she did.

Their conversation was interrupted when Angel Dust rounded the corner, several bottles of cheap beer in his many hands.

"That guy's totally a nutjob." He said, before Vaggie threw a spear at him, knocking one of the bottles out of his grip, causing it to fall to the floor before shattering.

As this all happened, Six himself was laying on an old looking, faintly stained up mattress with full armor on. To most it looked trashy, but to him, it might as well have been the softest thing in Hell, as it wasn't but a few minutes before he was out like a light.

* * *

_The next day_

The Courier gently placed a potted plant onto the windowsill of his room. After making sure it was neither too big or too small, he smiled and began to continue, reaching into his coat to retrieve something. Suddenly, the spider currently laying on his bed decided to speak.

"I don't know why you don't just use any old dirt for that." Said Angel Dust, as the Courier filled a small pot with extremely dark soil he held in an old ziplock bag.

"Because, none of the shit you've got here is likely gonna be as fertile as this, and if it is, it's likely gonna cost money I don't have." Said the Courier. "But this, this is free, reusable, and easy to make. I'm not going to sit here and be a leech off of Charlie and this hotel. Unlike you." He finished with a good natured chuckle despite the insult.

"I'll have you know I'm not a complete leech!" Angel said, now flustered and annoyed.

"Oh? How?" The Courier shot back, putting some tomato seeds in his small pot, before giving it some water. He just hoped that the light in this place worked similarly to the sun's, lest he wind up with several failed crops.

"I… stayed clean for two weeks… then got into a turf war… But at least I don't go around wearing a mask all day!" Countered the spider demon.

"Oh you'd like it if I wore less armor, wouldn't you?" Chuckled the Courier, as he dusted the dirt off his gloves.

"Well… yeah." Admitted Angel. "But that's not the point! You need to be more open, like, how long has it been since you've taken that shit off, or hell, worn anything besides it."

"...Quite awhile ago honestly." Admitted the Courier.

"Yeah, and you don't even clean it!" Angel pointed out.

"I wipe the blood off." Six defended. "Besides, back where I come from, it's better to have dirt and sand masking your scent, unless you want to wind up chow for whatever abomination that the Mojave has in store."

"But you're not in the Mojave anymore." Angel said.

The Courier paused, as if pondering the statement, before turning and speaking. "Tell you what. I'll clean my armor the second you start accepting women as patrons."

"Oh that's a low blow and you know it." Angel Dust growled, his eyes narrowing.

"Yep." Six admitted with a smile under his helmet, making the spider growl in annoyance once more.

"Well don't you go around filling this place up with compost bins or some shit." Said Angel as the Courier motioned for him to leave.

"Nah. This is just an experiment. Come on, let's go make breakfast." He said, before pausing as the two entered the hallway just outside his new room. "You people do have a stove, right?" He asked, only getting a shrug.

"Fuck if I know." Angel said uncaringly as the Courier sighed.

"Maybe they'll at least have a fireplace here." Six said to himself, before continuing on.

Soon enough he stood over an small, old looking stove tucked off into the corner of the lobby. It seemed as if it had just recently been cleaned, likely thanks to Niffty, though despite that, he was surprised it even worked. However despite how small and old the stove was, he was happy to have this luxury compared to the campfires he made due with in the rougher parts of the Mojave. He then quickly looked in a fridge nearby, only to find a single box of a strange food type he'd never seen before.

"Popsies? What the hell." He mumbled, pulling out said box, only to instantly growl as he saw the liquid of the former popsicle run down his glove. He soon threw the half melted snacks away, as he quickly found a rag before he wiped off his glove.

"You need any help there?" Charlie said, walking into the lobby, looking like she'd just woken up.

"No I'm fine..." He said, before turning back to the stove. "You don't have anything to cook around here do you?" He asked.

"Well, since we're on a bit of a budget crunch we've not really been able to get anything to properly cook yet, though Niffty has been badgering us about that for the past few days." She explained.

"Alright, I guess I can dip into my fresher stock." He said, before pulling out a few large ziplock bags, with one filled with several cuts of meat, and another strange looking fruit that almost resembled an apple, though it was discolored, being purple with a few splotches of yellow in it. Finally there was a massive egg in one of them. If Charlie could guess, she'd say it belonged to an ostrich or emu.

"Er… got a pan?" He then said with a nervous chuckle, realizing how large his stock was.

* * *

"So, think that nutjob can actually cook?" Asked Angel Dust , reclining back in his seat. He and the other demons of Hazbin were gathered around a dining table Charlie, Niffty, and Vaggie had set up in a side room off of the main lobby.

"Maybe. I just hope it's better than the crap food we've had for the past few weeks." Vaggie growled, obviously tired of half melted popsicles.

"I just hope he doesn't burn anything!" Niffty said, fearing the idea. "He didn't even let me supervise to make sure he knows how to cook! I hope he removed his gloves!"

"It better have meat in it." Husk growled before downing almost a third of a bottle of beer. He made sure to have several more sitting at his side, and had already gone through two or three of them.

"Oh I wouldn't worry you guys!" Charlie said with an optimistic smile. "Even if it doesn't end up being exactly what you wanted, he did his best, and that's all we can ask him for."

The discussions didn't continue for much longer as soon enough, the Courier walked in, holding a large metal tray. He soon sat it down in the center of the table as the demons around him gaze upon his creation. It was an omelet, and a big one at that, with several chunks of meat both sticking out the sides and covering it. It also had some diced vegetables scattered on top of it as well. Every demon's nose was filled with the scent of fried meat, perfectly cooked eggs, and with melted cheese.

"I hope this is to your liking, as that's pretty much all of the food I had with me." He said with a chuckle, as he began cutting the group individual pieces of the massive meal. They noted that his gloves were removed, and sleeves rolled up, revealing his tanned, scar covered forearms. He even had the faint scent of soap coming off of him as he filled their plates with his meal. By the time he was finished, the demons all had said plates piled high with the Wasteland Omelet.

Husk was the first one to dig in, ripping at the meat covered omelet like one would expect a dog to do. He chewed loudly as Niffty herself took a comparatively tiny, delicate bite, her taste buds being slowly filled with the Courier's dish. Angel himself just shrugged as he began to eat as well, though obviously less gracefully. Vaggie and Charlie began their meal as well, with the Courier took his seat as he began gazing over all of their expressions.

It was… odd to expect criticism, as typically the only one sampling the Courier's meals were himself, though he did thankfully get the occasional compliment from Veronica, Cass, Arcade, Raul, and Lily. (All he usually got out of Boone was a nod, though he knew the sniper was thankful for his culinary talents.) While the Courier had gone through more firefights than he could count and had been in a straight up war, it seemed this was what got his enhanced heart beating the quickest. One of the few things that had brought him some semblance of fun and simple joy in the Wasteland now put a bit of a strain on his shoulders.

"This is actually really good." Said Vaggie, making him breathe a sigh of relief as the strain was blasted into oblivion.

"Yeah. I bet even Alastor would like it!" Niffty said, cutely squeeing in glee.

"What's in it?" Asked Charlie curiously.

"A Deathclaw egg stuffed with some Brahmin cheese and Lakelurk meat and topped with diced tomato and mutfruit." Said the Courier, almost robotically, like he'd forced himself to never forget the recipe.

"Deathclaw?" Charlie questioned.

"Giant pissed off lizard." Six answered

"Lakelurk?" Vaggie continued.

"Think of it as a giant snapping turtle that has weaponized sound." He explained, silencing a majority of the table.

"Even if you're nuts, either of those would make for a kick ass album cover." Angel Dust said with a mouthful of omelet, before he got a hard punch to the shoulder by Vaggie, making him hiss in pain.

"Just ignore him." Said the spearwomen.

"Where did you learn how to cook?" Niffty said, changing the subject.

"Nowhere in particular." He said. "It's just one of the few luxuries I had in the wasteland, so I figured I might as well master it. Eating the old canned stuff gets boring after awhile."

"Huh. What did you do for entertainment then?" Vaggie asked.

"Well, aside from the occasional hooker, I read as much as I can." He explained, though his bluntness made Vaggie facepalm as Charlie and Niffty both blushed in surprise, while Angel Dust almost choked from laughing. Husk was too busy downing more booze to react much.

"Hah, knew you weren't some celibate!" Angel Dust said with a sharp toothed grin.

"Well I'm just being honest." Six responded. "Lying about something like that is pretty dumb. Besides, I didn't get much out of that anyways."

"Oh I'm sure you didn't." Angel commented, only for the Courier to continue on.

"What I did learn though was through pre-war relics. Old computers and holotapes and books and even comics helped me as I struggled through the Mojave. Almost as much as a gun, even." He admitted.

"Speaking of guns, what kind of heat are you packing?" Husk casually asked, picking his teeth with one of his claws.

The Courier shrugged before he stood and opened up his long duster, showing the group of demons the various weapons and bits of ammo strapped to him and his jacket underneath. The two biggest weapons strapped to it were Dinner Bell, which was secured to his coat by what looked to be old belts and straps of leather that had been sewn into it. The other one faintly resembled a Tommy Gun with a few green highlights on the very end of the barrel. It too was secured by these same leather straps.

Aside from that, the group could make out the shapes of several pistols holstered around the man's torso, with dozens of magazines being closely strapped to his belt, lower stomach, and upper thighs, with a few others being on his upper chest. Several other small pouches littered his body, no doubt carrying ammo and other essentials.

"I tried to travel light, without a backpack or something bigger slowing me down." He explained, as he began to set the larger parts of his arsenal on the table, with him making sure they were unloaded as he did. He started with Dinner Bell

"You consider this light?" Charlie questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Eh, I kinda get where he's coming from." Angel chuckled. "If he really wanted to roll heavy, he should've packed a few extra Tommy Guns."

The Courier nodded as he continued. "I guess for a place like this, I won't need anything bigger than a shotgun, and not having to carry it would certainly take a massive weight off my shoulders." As he sat down his other, Tommy Gun-like rifle, Angel Dust instantly began examining it.

"Nice weapon but…" Angel flipped the weapon this way and that as he examined it further. It was very similar to his sub-machine gun of choice, yet had a few differences. "What's with all of the weird modifications on it?"

"That my friend..." Began the Courier, grabbing the rifle from Angel's many hands. "Is for when shit really goes south. Think of it as a last resort."

"Doesn't look too intimidating." Said the snarky spider.

"Compared to some of the weapons I've once used, it's not." Admitted the former mailman. "But still, since I didn't feel like lugging around hundreds of pounds over a barren as fuck desert, this is the biggest I've got. I just wish there was a way to get back to the world of the living. Then I could get my grubby hands on some REAL firepower." He chuckled, rubbing his hands together at the thought. As he did, his jacket was still opened, allowing Niffty to see a more unique weapon in his arsenal.

"What's that fist thing?" Niffty asked, her eye focused on a strange fist-like weapon hanging from another piece of leather near the Courier's thigh. Said weapon itself had the symbol for nuclear radiation on it. Courier Six smiled and pulled it out from its loop, before putting it over his right fist and using it as a gauntlet.

"Power Fist, though this one's extremely modified. The Gun Runners called it 'Greased Lightning.'" He explained. "Strong enough to punch through a brick wall… or shatter the skull of a Deathclaw." He said, pointing to the tally marks on the side of it. 33 in total.

"Interesting." Niffty mused before she practically vanished from the Courier's view, appearing right in front of him in the blink of an eye. She stood on the table to be eye level with him. This act of extreme speed made Six actually step back in surprise. He felt like the little one eyed demon could move about as fast as he did while on Turbo.

"You know that radiation sign kind of reminds me of when I was still alive. We had to go through sooo many videos telling us to duck and cover. It got a bit boring real quick. I mean sure nuclear annihilation is terrifying but still, there's only so much a girl can take." Said the little demon with her rapid-fire mouth, now acting how she did when she first entered the Hotel.

"Er… well duck and cover wouldn't have been too useful anyways. You need a radiation proof vault… even then that's not a guaranteed success..." He said, before thinking over her words. "But… how old are you?"

"Well, by this point I think I'd be around seventy." She said in thought, as he looked over her for a moment.

"So you were likely alive in the 50s..." He pondered. It felt strange to be the youngest in the room for once. Sure, Caesar was older than him by a few decades, and Mr. House by centuries, but for a childish being such as Niffty to be that old. It felt odd. Charlie could sense his feelings of awkwardness despite the mask and decided to change the subject,

"Well Six, is there anything about Hell you'd like to know?" She asked.

"I'd… just like a map." He said simply, before looking at his Pip-Boy, fidgeting with it as he did. Despite knowing it was impossible, a faint part of him refused to believe his trusty computer was mostly useless. Finally though he sighed and stopped touching it. However, as he did, he felt as if something was… wrong. The air itself seemed to get faintly colder and more oppressive, and every hair on his body stood up. Despite his lack of fear, his body told him to run, yet he couldn't quite figure out from what.

"Quite an interesting piece of technology you've got there, friend!" A voice picked up from behind him. It sounded as if it was coming from an old, grainy radio...


	5. Chapter 5

The Courier slowly turned to face the creature that'd just spoken, a chill running up and down his spine as he did. He was a bit surprised as he found himself looking into the chest of another demon, and Six had to step backwards as he craned his neck up to look at said demon face to face.

Said face was a pale grey, with a massive, yellow toothed smile and red-eyes adorning it. Atop the beings head sat two long, red ears, and a set of tiny, black deer antlers. On any other creature, Six might've called them cute, but the wastelander couldn't spare any goodwill to the being in front of him. Aside from the being's strange skin color, he wore a red pinstripe suit and black bow-tie. The suit faintly reminded the Courier of Benny. Six soon noted though that the demon hadn't moved or blinked the entire time he looked over him, and then realized that the deer creature must've been waiting for his response.

"Pip-Boy 3000." He said simply, and to the point, all warmness drained from his voice as his tone was icy.

"Why, that's quite interesting!" Said iciness was contrasted by the deer demon's cheery, grainy voice. "I've certainly never seen anything quite like it before! It almost reminds me of when I was still alive! They certainly don't make them like they used to!"

Six was actually used to the sound of old radios as he'd both listened to and fixed his fair share of them, but the sound of this demon's voice was… wrong. It was like talking to something truly otherworldly.

"Yeah… I'm guessing you died in the… 40s?" Six asked, his voice still cold.

"30s, actually!" Alastor said, his smile still wide.

"How?" Six instantly asked back, and he noticed that the deer's smile faintly twitched, just for a brief millisecond.

"Why, my dear fellow, it was… a simple miscalculation with a dog..." Said the demon, still trying to remain cheery.

"Right..." The Courier said. "Got a name?"

"Alastor! I'll assume you're new around here?" The demon, now known as Alastor answered, fully back to his unsettlingly happy tone.

"One could say that." Six responded.

"Well that's excellent! I always enjoy meeting new people!" Alastor said. "May I get your name, my dear fellow?"

"Courier Six of the Mojave Express." Said the Courier. His tone was almost like that of a stoic soldier who'd just been captured. Name, rank, service number, nothing else.

"Why, a mailman!" Alastor exclaimed in excitement. "Your attire seems rather unusual though!"

"Deliveries were… in a harsh landscape." Six explained.

"I'd say so! You're covered in muck! Though, I will say the red eyes are a nice touch." Complimented the demon, staring into the Courier's eyes. In response, Alastor merely got a nod of acknowledgement.

The two remained silent as they stared at each other, with the Courier feeling as if the demon was trying to find something behind the two red lenses that covered his eyes to outsiders. As the two continued to stare each other down, the Courier inconspicuously reached into his jacket, and grabbed his back up weapon, that being a 9mm pistol. However, said pistol wasn't just some run of the mill weapon. It was something… more.

While no one could see it, the 9mm was coated in ivory, and said ivory had various decorations along the slide. However, the most standout feature was the image of the Virgin Mary on the grip, though she ended up being covered by the Courier's hand as held on tight.

Holding Maria made the Courier feel… Safer? It was an odd sense of security, even if he didn't fear the demon in front of him, he had the feeling that he could actually make him hurt with the ivory coated pistol. He was about ready to draw the weapon, when Charlie gave an awkward sounding cough, making both the Courier and Alastor look towards her.

"Uhh… Alastor. Six here is going to be our new guest." She said, trying to change the subject. Alastor's smile very faintly grew upon hearing that, and Six finally let go of Maria, moving his hand back down to his side.

"Yeah. I figured this place could use more… guests." Six said slowly, now trying to regain the warmness that had been in his voice moments ago. "Maybe I could try to help them join. I've been told I… have a way with words."

"Oh, excellent! With a fellow like you, maybe things will get more interesting than they've been as of late!" Alastor commented.

"Yeah… Actually, what's a… thing like _you_ doing in this place?" Six then decided to ask. "You don't seem too hellbent on redemption."

"Oh, well, this is merely for my amusement!" Alastor said. "I've grown bored of being one of the most powerful demons in Hell, and thought I might as well try something new!"

"So you're the top of the food chain in this place, huh?" Six asked.

"Oh, you flatter me!" Alastor responded, his smile never fading. "But I see myself as beyond such primal concepts!"

"Right… You ever wonder what would happen if someone went after you?" Six asked.

"I don't have to wonder! Used to it happened too often to count!" Alastor explained cheerfully, before chuckling. "Until people learned their lesson that is."

"What if someone else decided to take a shot at you though, and actually won? What would you do then?" Six asked, making Alastor continue to chuckle as the rest of the table actually seemed to get nervous, with even Angel Dust adjusting his collar.

"Why my dear friend, you are quite the hoot..." Alastor said, before leaning down. Six stood still as the tall, lanky demon soon got face to face with him, with the two being mere inches from each other at this point. "But I would never give such silly ideas a second of my time." Said the demon, his tone much less jovial, with said tone causing Niffty to squirm a tiny bit in her seat.

"I take it you're not a fan of personal space." Six said, not flinching, making Vaggie bite her lip nervously. "Regardless, in my opinion, it's always good to have a back up plan if you lose. You never know what could happen."

Alastor then straightened back up, returning to his position where he towered over the much smaller human. The deer then focused on the Courier's still revealed arms. He noted the skin tone, and the numerous scars, and the Courier could swear that the demon's smile got just a bit wider.

"You seem to have gone through quite a lot, haven't you? Are you a soldier?" Alastor asked, changing the topic.

"One could say that." Six said, rolling down his sleeves to cover his arms, before he pulled out his gloves and put them back on.

"How many men did you kill?" Alastor asked.

"Lost count. Probably in the triple digits." Six responded casually.

"Ohh… interesting." Alastor said, sounding pleased. "You must have some entertaining stories to tell."

"Yeah… though they've lost their humor for me." Courier Six replied.

"Oh do please do share! I love hearing new stories." Alastor said.

"I would but... I think I'll go ahead and take my leave now." Said the Courier, before walking over to Angel Dust, and grabbing him by the back of his shirt collar. "I'm sure Angel here wouldn't mind helping me, either!"

"Wh-what!?" Gagged the spider, before the Courier drug him out of the room, fighting against the white furred demon all the while.

"I don't mean to cut our chat short, but it is high time I actually put in some work around here." Six explained to Alastor, getting a nod.

"Oh, no, that's perfectly fine. As a matter of fact, I was about to go do some business of my own! After a brief discussion with my friends here!" Said the deer demon.

"Well, I guess our schedules work out then." Six nodded, before dragging Angel out of the room, and soon enough, he shoved the spider demon out of the front door, however, he himself didn't exit, as Alastor walked into the lobby, and called after him.

"Try not to get killed out there." Said the deer monster. "I know you've only got one shot, unlike all of us demons."

Alastor gave a knowing wink at the frozen Courier, before the demon turned around and took his leave. Six almost pulled out Maria there and then, before suddenly he remembered he had a spider he'd just thrown outside. He swallowed his rage and quickly left, finding Angel outside, rising to his feet.

"What the _FUCK_!" Screamed Angel Dust as he fully got up. "What in the hell was that!"

"I feel like if I stay around that freak for too long, something in me's going to snap!" The Courier growled back.

"That doesn't mean you have to drag me into this shit!" Angel countered.

"I wasn't lying." Claimed the Courier. "I did want to go around and check out the grubby underworld of this place, and I know you're familiar enough with it to lead me to something worthwhile."

"Next time you want to go fucking around just ask!" Angel still complained

"Sorry…. I will!" The Courier confirmed as he nodded apologetically, soothing the spider's annoyance.

Six then sighed, before taking a seat on a nearby curb. He then pulled out an old, beat up looking canteen… Well, canteen was a strong word. This object looked more like a metal whiskey flask, though sewn over it was a blue patch of fabric, along with '13' in yellow cloth.

"What the hell is that?" Angel asked, looking at Six as he pulled back his mask and began to chug, gulping down the whole canteen in a matter of moments. He gave a sigh of satisfaction as he wiped stray water from his lips and looked over the object in question.

"Oh, it's just my trusty Vault 13 canteen." He responded with a smile, before putting said canteen back into one of his many pouches.

"Why 13?" Asked the spider.

"Because long before my time, a man arose from Vault 13. From what I heard he kicked ass and took names. Completely obliterated two underground bases filled with Super Mutants, and single handedly started the NCR, which I… kinda used to sorta work for." Said the Courier, almost prideful to discuss the Wasteland's history.

"Huh..." Angel said, with mostly disinterest, though the Courier took this as actual engagement and due to his own desire to talk, he continued.

"Oh don't even get me started on his grandson. That motherfucker blew up an oil rig and put down the biggest son of a bitch in the Wasteland! Frank Horrigan was one tough-" The Courier was cut off, his excitement dying as he was.

"I really don't care." Angel huffed.

"Alright..." Six grunted in disappointment, before standing up. "Want to get going?"

"I guess, but you owe me dinner for that shit." Angel growled.

"The second I get some money, I'll take you to the finest restaurant in town. Might even buy you a dress." Six joked.

"Better be a damn fine dress." Angel growled, making Six chuckle.

"I'll get you the best one in Hell." The Courier confirmed as the two continued on down the street.


	6. Chapter 6

"So, know anyone who's willing to hire me?" Six asked as he and Angel Dust walked down the relatively empty streets of Hell.

"For what, specifically?" Angel questioned.

"General work. Maybe security or maintenance? Possibly deliveries?" Six explained.

"Hmm..." Angel looked him up and down, before chuckling. "Don't know much about that but I'm sure you could make a killing in adult entertainment."

"Yeah. Dirty blood covered guy in a gas mask. Super sexy." Six replied with a sigh.

"Hey, people could be into it." Angel chuckled. "But if you really want cash, there's no shortage of bounties in this place."

"I'll only kill someone if I know for sure they deserve it." Six said. "I'm not going to run around using this place as my shooting range."

"We're in Hell." Angel pointed out. "Most people who get hit usually deserve it."

"Maybe… but I'm not going to become anyone's hitman. I've had enough of that shit." Six said.

"Well… I've got one trustworthy person who might need a favor." Angel pondered.

"Alright, let's hear it." Six said, his ears perking up.

"Give me sec." Angel said as he nodded, before pulling out a Hellphone. He quickly dialed his contact, who soon picked up before the spider spoke to them with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, it's me. Listen, I need a job, I've got a friend here who's new to these parts and is willing to help with that little problem of yours." Angel explained, as Six pondered how technology in Hell worked. Perhaps it was actually magic, given the pentagram hovering over the city itself made him throw science out the window, yet still, maybe this place operated on some type of rules. Maybe not rules he was used to, but rules nonetheless.

"Alright... Yeah he's a pretty good shot. Yeah he's trustworthy. Alright. Yeah? Okay be there in ten minutes. Love you too." Angel said, before quickly hanging up. "She's at a bar nearby."

"Guess I got the job?" Courier Six questioned.

"Well, you've got the interview at least. Though be careful. She's probably gonna be a bit tipsy." Angel explained, before ushering Six to follow him. The duo then continued on down the street, with Six examining the city all the while.

* * *

_A few minutes later._

"You know you'd think they'd come up with a name better than 'Hellhole.'" Six said, looking up at a barely functioning neon sign above a small, crappy looking bar. "I mean is that how they name everything in this city? Hell Donuts? Hell Coffee? Hell Grocery Store? Hell-"

"That's big talk coming from someone named Courier Six." Angel said with a sharp toothed smile, cutting off the Courier.

"Hey, I have a reason for that! My real name was blown out the back of my skull along with a fair bit of my brain." Six growled in response as the two entered, with the Courier holding the door open for Angel.

"My my. What a gentleman you are, Courier Six." Angel teased with a laugh.

"At least I'm not named after a drug. Hell, just call yourself Cocaine Snorter at this point." Six shot back.

"Can't, that was taken." Angel responded, getting a sigh from the Courier in return.

The two looked around the place, finding this bar to be filled practically to the brim with demons of varying sizes, though most of them were massive and muscular. A crappy jukebox in the corner, with the old-timey piece of tech being covered in dirt and rust.

"Christ, you think they'd at least get a stereo or something." Commented Angel, before turning to Six. "Look, I gotta go take a piss, so you just wait here until I get back."

"I'm surprised you're not offering me to join you." Six responded.

"Oh hardy har, mailman. Just don't start a fight without me." Angel said, before quickly rushing off to the bathroom.

Six just nodded and quickly looked around the crowded bar, before he began to slowly make his way through the crowd. He maneuvered between demons as he made his way up to the nearest empty table he could find, and quickly took a seat. He waited for a moment, before the sound of a feminine voice broke through the typical chatter of the crowd.

"Three hundred bucks for only four shots! Are you fucking kidding me!?" Six turned to see a demon that faintly reminded him of Niffty, though this one was far taller.

She had pale white skin and one massive, red eye with an X where her pupil should've been, along with a massive, blonde ponytail with pink accents. Her clothes were torn, with a red, low cut crop top, and a torn miniskirt with long, black stockings coming out from under it. Six noted her face was flush, making him realize she was probably drunk nearly off her ass. He supposed demons had a better tolerance for booze and drugs though, given one could get them like candy in this place.

She was currently going off on a much smaller imp who seemed to be her current waiter. The little demon was in a small tuxedo, and looked unsure of what to do.

"Just… ignore it Six. You're not the bouncer." Said the Courier, trying to keep himself calm. He had an immense amount of sadness for the little guy, who was just trying to do his job, with rules he didn't create leading him to a bad situation like this.

"Ma'am. You've had at least fifty shots of our finest brew… You're just... Severely drunk." Tried to explain the imp, but the larger demon wasn't having any of it, as she grabbed him by his collar and brought him face to face with here.

"Listen here you little shit!" She slurred.

"Do they not have security in this place?" Six criticized with a sigh as she continued to scream in the imp's face, giving a long list of insults he didn't bother to listen to. He finally got to his feet, and walked over to the still yelling demon as she shook the imp in her grip

"Hey!" He shouted, getting the demoness's attention. "Can you do us all a favor and shut the fuck up and put him down?"

Instantly the whole bar went silent, as all eyes were on Six. He suddenly felt as if he'd screamed at someone who was high on the food chain in this place, however, at that moment, he realized he didn't give a fuck. The demoness dropped the imp, who scurried as she gave a low growl.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" She hissed.

"You deaf too?" He responded simply. "I'm not surprised considering you're yapping like you've been on a year long period."

He then heard the faint sounds of an airhorn somewhere in the distance, and turned to see a small imp in the corner holding said airhorn.

"Sorry. Force of habit." The imp admitted, before Six nodded, and turned back to face the cyclops.

However, the instant he did, he got a hard right hook to the face, which sent him flying across the room, before he slammed back first into the jukebox. The machine sputtered out sparks that showered the Courier as he slumped to the ground, growling in annoyance as he did. This act of violence seemed to knock something loose in the machine, making an old, more familiar song begin to play.

"_How lucky can one guy be? I kissed her and she kissed me!_" The old jukebox spat through static.

"Wanna insult me again, asshole?" Growled the cyclops as Six grunted in response, quickly getting to his feet, with the jukebox continuing to play as he did.

"_Like the fella once said, 'Ain't that a kick in the head?'_"

"Okay, you one eyed cunt, let's fucking dance." The Courier growled, as he took off his gloves, before rolling up his sleeves, revealing his scar covered arms. The demoness herself growled, before the two rushed down each other, with the crowd parting like the Red Sea as the two met in the middle, with the music blaring the whole time.

"_The room was completely black! I hugged her and she hugged back!_"

The Courier gave the demoness a hard right hook to the face, sending her stumbling back. However, she quickly shrugged off the blow before she rushed forwards and gave him a hard boot to the stomach, making him growl. The Courier himself powered through the pain and threw a left hook in response, which the demon sidestepped, before she responded by giving him a punch to the jaw. He stumbled back himself, before quickly getting another jab to the face, though his helmet soaked up most of the damage.

"_Like the sailor said, quote 'Ain't that a hole in the boat?'_"

The Courier shook off the blow before he parried another punch with his forearm, sending her fist careening harmlessly off to the side. She stumbled forwards, allowing Six to then decked her in the mouth, sending her stumbling back. However, he himself ended up hissing as he drew back his hand, which now was covered in deep cuts that slowly began to leak blood. The demoness looked at him and smiled, revealing her mouth was filled with sharp teeth, though a few were cracked thanks to Six's punch. Six just growled and rushed her down again.

"_My head keeps spinnin'! I go to sleep and keep grinnin'!_"

She dodged a right hook, and then a left, before Courier went all out with jabs, with the demoness jerking out of the way of each. Right, left, right, left, left, right, and so on. The blows continued to be dodged, and soon she ducked under a haymaker, before quickly giving a hard punch to the Courier's gut. However, he ignored the pain as he grabbed her arm, before quickly yanking her towards him. This left her off balance, leading her to stumble directly into a hard right hook, with said hook making her stagger backwards.

"_If this is just the beginnin'! My life is gonna be beeuuutifuuulll!_"

Six didn't let her recover as he used her being off balance to his advantage to continue his assault. He grabbed her by the front of her crop top, before he quickly flipped her over his shoulder and slammed her hard onto the ground, making the crappy wooden floor crack under her on impact. Surprisingly, the crop top didn't rip, keeping the fight PG... Well, as PG as a bloody bar brawl got. With his opponent down, Six then stomped on her chest, and the second his boot made contact, her ribs creaked from the powerful blow. The attack ended up both knocking the wind out of her and pinning her to the ground as he looked down at her, his red lenses glaring into her singular eye.

"_I've sunshine enough to spread!_ _It's just like the fella said!_"

"Done yet?" Growled the Courier, before she clawed at his thigh. He hissed, before he suddenly got a small bomb to the face. Said bomb exploded into a small cloud of deep red smoke. This blinded the Courier, and made him step back, freeing the demoness. He swatted away the smoke, and just as his vision cleared, he saw the cyclops flying at him feet first. His eyes widened before he was suddenly drop kicked by the demoness, sending him flying even further back. He went almost a dozen feet before slamming into a table, with said table shattering as he landed back first on it.

"_Tell me quick! Ain't love a kick in the heeaaad?_"

The Courier growled as he quickly stood up, splinters falling off of his duster as he did. He then saw the demoness rushing for him, before he quickly had an idea. She flew at him, with a punch aimed at his stomach. However, he quickly turned, and let her punch him in the lower back, or more specifically, his spine. This ended up making her eye go wide in pain. She felt as if she'd just punched a concrete wall, and when she pulled her fist away from the Courier, she saw blood leaking down the back of his duster. However, it wasn't his blood.

"_Like the fella once said 'Ain't that a kick in the heeaaad?'"_

The Courier turned back around to face her as the cyclops screamed in pain and rage while she grabbed her now bleeding hand with her free, undamaged one. Her knuckles were busted, and her pale skin was now covered in blood.

"What the fuck!?" She screamed.

"I've got a strong back." Said the Courier with a smile under his helmet, before she growled and rushed him down. Blood flew from her hand as she swung, with the Courier moving his head back, letting her fist fly right by his face.

"_Like the sailor said, quote 'Ain't that a hole in the booaaat?'_"

It was the Courier's turn to dodge the demon's wild jabs, with him weaving around them with the skill of a master combatant. He took a step backwards with each punch, watching for an opening. She threw one punch that the Courier easily parried with his forearm. He ended knocking her fist aside, allowing him to deliver a haymaker to the face, before giving a few jabs to her stomach, sending her staggering back. The demoness growled, and launched herself at him once more, though she put all of her weight into one right hook and instantly found herself off balance.

"Perfect." The Courier chuckled

"_My head keeps spinnin'! I go to sleep and keep grinnin'!_"

He then grabbed her by the wrist, before pulling her into a headbutt that made her close her eye as the Courier's helmet crashed into her face, she even felt a tooth come loose at the blow. He then grabbed her by the neck, before picking her up with ease. An instant later, he chokeslammed the demoness onto the nearest table, with her letting out a shout of pain as he did. The table broke on impact and the cyclops groaned as she pulled herself from the rubble, her vision a bit woozy as her head spun while tears involuntarily poured from her eye due to the headbutt.

"_If this is just the beginnin'! My life is gonna be beeuuutifuuulll!_"

She growled before shaking off her dizziness, and rushing down the Courier surprisingly quickly for someone who'd just endured a strong blow to the head. She quickly slammed into him, before the two went stumbling back, crashing down through several more tables as they then tumbled to the ground and began to wrestle around on it. Soon enough, the demoness was on top of him, hammering him with punches. The Courier had his forearms up though, defending himself from each jab.

"_She's tellin' me we'll be wed! She's picked out a king-size bed!_"

He then quickly waited for an opening, and the second she raised a fist to strike him, he gave her a hard punch to the left cheek. This didn't knock her off of him, but it did end up making a bruise slowly form as she began to claw and bite at him. He raised his right arm to defend himself, before she snapped at him, going for his face as she did. The Courier couldn't help but grunt as she suddenly bit into his forearm, drawing blood as her teeth sunk into his flesh. However, she soon felt her teeth clang against something extremely hard just under half an inch beneath the Courier's skin. It was almost like the man had a lair of metal armor just beneath the flesh.

"_I couldn't feel any better or I'd be siiiick! Tell me quick ooooh, ain't love a kick?_"

The Courier smiled at the fact his sub-dermal armor held up against the demon's bite. He was reminded of the many maulings he'd endured from Nightstalkers, though this bitch thankfully didn't have any poison in her fangs… Not that he had to worry about that given the upgrades he'd gotten at the Big MT.

"_Tell me quick! Ain't love a kick in the heeeeaaaaaaad?_" The jukebox managed, before it slowly shut off, sparks flying from it as it gave out, silencing the voice of Dean Martin.

With her teeth stuck in his arm, the demon found herself stuck, allowing the Courier to land a few blows with his left fist. She grunted in pain at each one, as more bruises began to form on her cheeks. After four or five blows, he then brought his leg back and slammed his boot into her face, making her grunt as she finally let go of his arm and tumbled backwards. She found herself rolling along the ground before she used said roll to her advantage and got into a crouching position. She quickly got to her feet as the Courier did the same, his arm gushing blood as he did.

Just before the two were about to rush down each other again, a sudden voice cut over the silence that had befallen the once lively bar.

"WHAT THE FUCK!? SIX!? CHERRI!?" Both the demon and the Courier turned to see Angel Dust staring at the scene in horror.

"Angel?" Both said at the same time, confusion in their tones.

"Wait, you know him?" Courier Six suddenly asked.

"You know Angie?" Asked back the demoness, who the Courier now knew as Cherri.

"I… aw fuck." The Courier managed as he realized something. "You're the one he called on the phone, aren't you?"

"You're the one who needed the job?" She asked back in surprise.

"Oh my Satan... you're both idiots..." Angel said, facepalming as he did.

"Well if that's the case… sorry about punching you in the face." Said the Courier.

"And I guess I'm sorry I bit open your arm." Cherri responded, though her apology seemed a bit less genuine as she wiped the blood from her mouth.

"I can't believe I'm the sensible one for once." Angel said, before he quickly ushered the two out of the bar, his four arms grabbing them as he drug them out the front door. "Let's go you two. You've done enough infighting for one day..."

* * *

Song: Ain't That a Kick in the Head - Dean Martin


	7. Chapter 7

"Your knuckles are busted but no bones are broken." Six said, looking over Cherri Bomb's still bleeding, bruised up hand.

Him and her were currently in one of Cherri's many hideouts, with this one being a small abandoned warehouse, not far from the bar the two had fought in. All the while the two traveled, both he and Cherri had mostly ignored each other, with only Angel trying to start a conversation. It failed… numerous times. Six had debated on using a Stimpak, but he soon figured he could heal himself up with only a few supplies in his doctor's bag.

"Consider yourself lucky, considering you just punched reinforced metal." He continued.

"What the fuck is wrong with you anyways?" Growled the one eyed demon. "Like are you a cyborg or some shit?"

"I wouldn't say anything's wrong with me... Is that not common around here?" Six asked. "I mean, I figured the first thing Hell would do would develop badass technology and create an army of cyber-demons."

Cherri just looked at him like he had a screw loose.

"Oh don't you deny that wouldn't be badass." He responded, before pouring some peroxide onto Cherri's hand, making her hiss before he waited a moment and then cleaned it out with a cloth. He soon wrapped her hand in a bandage, before handing her a needle.

"Uh, look man, I might be into some wild shit, but I'm not going to shoot up. At least not with someone else's needle." She replied, making him sigh.

"I boiled it in alcohol and salt water at least ten times. I'm not going to use it if it's dirty, and besides, this isn't a drug… Well, it's not a non-medicinal drug. It's a Stimpak." He said, handing the Stimpak to her, before quickly moving on to his own wounds, continuing to explain as he did. "Helps your cells work quicker and regenerate more effectively than normal. Inject it. It'll fix up your busted teeth and patch up your hand."

"And why aren't you using one?" She asked, obviously suspicious.

"Because my body works differently from yours." He explained. "Its natural ability to heal has been increased, and now I can regenerate from most minor injuries. Think of me like a lizard, though I haven't tested to see if limbs grow back, and I sure as hell don't intend to."

Six growled as he finished dressing the wound on his arm. He doused it with alcohol and peroxide before thoroughly drying it with a clean rag. He flexed his muscles to make sure said bandage was secure, and nodded as it held up. He then turned to Cherri Bomb, who was still looking over the needle he'd given her. He sighed in annoyance as he watched.

"I've only got a dozen of those things left so use it or lose it." He said with a growl. She herself growled before she responded by injecting it into her wrist. He nodded as the medicine flowed through her. Cherri gave one more hiss, before mellowing out.

"Woah... it supposed to mellow you out?" She asked, a faint, soothing numbness covering her wrist as the liquid flowed through her body, making her cells repair any damage they'd found through her body.

"Acts as a bit of a painkiller, though that won't last long." He said. "Give it about half an hour and most of the damage done should be either gone or negligible."

"You two done playing doctor?" Asked Angel, walking into the two's view, with the spider having to fumble around boxes stacked several feet high as he did. "I'm tired of looking at old, dusty boxes. Speaking of which, why the hell did you pick this place as a hideout, Cherri?"

"What? Every good criminal needs a hideout in an abandoned warehouse!" She said, defended herself.

"Well, hideout or not, I need to know what the job you have for me is." Said the Courier, getting to business. "Assuming you're still willing to let me take it."

She looked him over, before nodding. "Well, you can certainly handle yourself in a fight. You packing any heat?" She asked.

"A fair bit, yes." He answered.

"Show me." She said, making him sigh.

"Alright, but this might take a minute." He said, before going off and grabbing an empty crate. Cherri Bomb raised her eyebrow in confusion as he opened his duster.

"Left my bigger guns at the hotel, so I can fight quicker." He explained, before he began to pull his weapons out of their various holsters. He unloaded each of them as he went. Cherri and Angel watched on as he took out his equipment and neatly sat them onto the box, using it as a table.

By the end of it, three 9mm pistols sat neatly on the box, along with a 10mm submachine gun. It had a massive silencer molded into the weapon's barrel. Sleepytyme is what the Gun Runners called the modified weapon, and the Courier had to agree, given nothing he'd face stood up to the portable gun's nigh silent firepower. He then sat out Greased Lighting and Blood-Nap. Beside them he placed his Ranger Sequoia. After that he pulled out half a dozen frag grenades. He decided to keep Maria and the last few weapons he had on him a secret, as they seemed to be rather distasteful for the citizens of Hell.

"And that's it." He said with a smile.

"You're loaded up pretty well." She said. "But you're not carrying anything heavy."

"I kind of hoped for you to take care of that." He admitted. "But again, what's the job?"

"It's simple. There's this small time asshole making moves in my turf." Cherri explained. "He calls himself Mike Hawk."

"Seriously?" The Courier asked, repeating the name in his head.

"Hey, he's the dumbass that named himself that when he got here." She said with a growl.

"So, what, just do some simple espionage, maybe an assassination?" Six asked.

"Simple isn't the word I'd use. He's got at least a dozen guards on him at all times." She said.

"Maybe bring a Tommy gun?" Recommended Angel, getting a shake of the head from Cherri.

"Guards give thorough searches. We've gotta get a weapon from inside the building." She explained.

"Then use a sniper rifle." Six said.

"Can't. He makes sure to have every nearby building on lockdown when he goes somewhere with vantage points. They're going to be filled with assholes crawling everywhere." She said. "And the second you take out one of then, every single guard will know, and our job gets a hell of a lot harder."

"I'd say explosives, but that would be too much collateral." Six mused in thought.

"I don't feel like blowing up half the block considering it's all in my turf." Agreed Cherri. "I've got smoke bombs on hand though."

"So then we just go in there, drop a few, kill the bastard, and get out." Angel said simply.

"Wait, before we go any further, why do you exactly want this guy dead?" Six asked. "Aside from the fact he's on your property?"

"He was an asshole when he was alive, always a con man more focused on himself over others." She explained.

"Still though, to permanently erase him from existence?" Six said.

"The dude was a cannibal." She explained.

He instantly picked up one of his pistols and loaded it, before turning to Cherri.

"When do we begin?" He asked simply, with Angel Dust nodding in agreement.

"He's gonna have a meeting in a fancy hotel a few blocks away in about two days from now. I've already got an interior plan of the place, and it's going to be one of those really fancy champagne filled parties though, so you might want to wear something a bit more formal than that armor." She said.

"And what about you two?" He asked, adjusting his duster in slight discomfort at the thought. "I'm sure he knows you're not really happy with him, and he'd probably see a cyclops and a feminine spider coming from a mile away."

"There's actually more spiders here than you'd think." Commented Angel.

"We're going to be going through the air-ducts." She explained, ignoring the spider's protests. "That's the one place I know they won't look. You'll be our eyes on the ground though. You get close, and the second he's dead, we bust out, take out any straggling guards, and all escape."

"Alright." He said as he jotted down some notes in his Pip-Boy "Before we get any deeper into this, let's talk pay."

Cherri sighed. "Of course... You'll get about thirty grand from this. That's all the extra cash I've got."

"Alright! A shit ton of drug money!" Exclaimed the spider with a grin.

"Cash is fine and all, but I'm looking for something more… offensive." Said the Courier.

"I can hook you up with some heavy weapons once this thing is all over." Said Cherri. "I've got a friend on the other side of the city that'll have everything you're looking for."

"Alright." Six grunted with a nod."But if we're doing something like this, we should have a fourth. Maybe even a fifth or sixth. Having more than one set of eyes on the ground would be pivotal."

"Well at the moment you two are the only group I have on hand." She said. "Unless either of you have got someone else to offer, we're only at three."

Both the Courier and Angel then pondered who else they could bring in, before light bulbs lit up above their heads.

* * *

"So, in summary, we go in, we find Mike Hawk, and once Six takes care of Hawk, we all rush to the getaway vehicle. After about a day, everyone will stop giving a shit that asshole died and you all go on with your lives." Cherri explained, pointing to a large map of the hotel that the meeting was to be held in. She took a deep breath, as if she'd been at this for hours. "Any questions?"

She looked at the group gathered around her. Six was sitting on a tiny stool that was too small for him, causing his knees to practically press into his chest. Angel was sitting on an old, half rotting couch, playing with a small bag of cocaine while Niffty frantically attempted to clean the nigh destroyed piece of furniture as well as the dozens of dust covered boxes nearby. Husk himself just stood over a crate which he was playing solitaire on. The winged demon didn't even look up from his game for the entire plan. Vaggie herself was the only one who showed any interest.

"Yeah, how much is the pay? To get Hazbin in better shape, we're going to need at least a few thousand." She explained, before Cherri sighed.

"I meant questions about the assasi-... Ugh! Why do I even fucking bother?" The one eyed demon growled. "We might as well cancel this shit now..."

"Alright… Mind if I explain the plan, Cherri?" Asked the Courier, getting up from his small seat. He pulled out a small pen from his pocket as he did. "I'll make a few changes if you don't mind."

"Fuck it… No one gives a shit anyways..." She sighed, stepping down as the Courier pulled out a small 9mm pistol.

"Everyone listen the fuck up!" He shouted as he let loose a burst of three bullets into the warehouse's ceiling. His deep voice came out as a growl that actually seemed louder than the gunshots. It was strange, to hear the relatively calm man unleash a roar of absolute fury. It seemed he'd used his Terrifying Presence to his advantage before. Instantly, Angel dropped his bag of drugs, while Niffty stopped mid sprint, a feather duster still in hand. Even Husk looked up from his game, raising an eyebrow as he did.

"Here's the plan." He said, before circling one of the outer air vents, which led into the ventilation system. "Angel and Cherri will enter into the hotel from the ventilation system, and be an extra set of eyes. However, you guys aren't going to just bust in at the end."

He said, before pulling out a 9mm pistol. He then put a silencer on it, and tossed the weapon at Cherri, who easily caught it. He then tossed her a trio of magazines.

"You take out as many guards as you can as quietly as possible." He explained. "I know they might have check ups every half an hour, and shift changes, but so long as you take one out between those changes, we'll have a few less guards to worry about."

"Wait, we're supposed to both use one gun at the same time?" Angel asked.

"You're the supplier, Angel. You carry as many storm drums as you can." Six said.

"Wait, 'storm drum?' What the hell is that?" He asked.

"Your Tommy guns." Six said, giving a growl. "Look, just keep your eyes on me. Once Mike is down, I'm willing to bet his security is going to be going all in on me, so I'll need something big to defend myself."

"You're taking on the entire building alone?" Vaggie said.

"No, I'll have covering fire from the vents as I get to the exit." He said.

"Wait, so we don't get to blast our way into the middle of the action?" Angel asked.

"No, you two need to get to the getaway vehicle back through the way you came. I can handle myself." He said. "Besides, I need you outside, taking down any exterior security. You said that asshole has a lot of guards up and down the block, so you two need to bring them down."

Both Angel and Cherri nodded as Six continued.

"Niffty, Husk, you two are with me. We'll enter the party dressed as guests, so bring the best clothing you've got. Niffty, I want you to try to cause as much of a distraction as possible. Get as many eyes on you as you can. I know this is Hell, but surely some people will be distracted by cuteness."

"You think I'm cute!?" She squeaked with glee.

"Yeah." He said casually, before quickly moving on, waving off her glee. "Husk, you got any flasks on you?"

"What do you think?" Growled the demon, obviously annoyed.

"Alright, better question, you got a flask on you you're willing to lose?" Six asked, making the demon raise his eyebrow.

Six then pulled out a clay vial that had a red pattern encircling it on the more robust bottom half of it. He made sure the cork was secure before he shook the vial, with it making a wet splashing sound that signaled there was a type of liquid in it.

"This is an extremely powerful neurotoxin made from the poison glands of both Radscorpions and Cazadores. Some of the most deadly creatures in the Wasteland." He explained with a smile. "I call it Tremble."

"So, we're poisoning Hawk?" Asked the winged demon.

"Not just him, Husk. Carry this in your flask. I know these demons won't give enough of a shit to take away another man's brew, so you can slip this by. Once you're in, when everyone's backs are turned, pour this into their drinks. Cherri said that there's supposed to be a win free use champagne table here..."

Six then circled a corner on the map. It was relatively out of the way of everything else.

"Apparently after his speech, Hawk and his guests are going to sample the "Best Champagne in Hell" so you give them an extra surprise with Tremble here." Six said.

"Woah, woah. We're going to kill everyone?" Vaggie asked.

"Nope. A dose this big might be able to almost kill a man, but if we disperse it throughout every drink in that place, at best it'll down everyone with the jitters for maybe half an hour. That'll be enough time to take one of the Exterminator class weapons from the guards and end Mike Hawk for good." Six said as Angel snorted at the name.

"And me?" Vaggie asked.

"You're the lookout and getaway driver." Six said. "Just keep the van ready and make sure no one makes any unexpected moves."

"Wait, so I just sit in a van alone for an hour?" She asked, sounding annoyed.

"Well, yeah. Every good plan needs to have a getaway driver. I mean, that's what I saw in all of those old holotapes." He shrugged.

"Ugh… fine." Vaggie sighed.

"Alright. Any objections? Concerns? Complaints?" Asked Six, looking around the room.

"You still haven't told us the money we're getting from this." Husk pointed out with a growl.

Six sighed and answered. "Thirty thousand, split between us, and not counting Cherri…" He figured the math in his head before turning and writing it down on the map.

"I'm only taking three grand, so everyone's cut should be around five or four thousand." He answered, writing it down. "Now I don't know exactly how much everything is here, but I'd say that's at least enough to get you all as much beer, drugs and-"

"And new, cleaner furniture!" Niffty interrupted, her eye focused on the nigh destroyed couch.

"And new furniture- Look, whatever, point is we'll all walk out of this with a fair amount split between us." He explained.

"But what about you, are you just going to go in looking like you're from a shitty World War documentary?" Husk asked.

"It is not shit. This armor is top of the line riot gear!" Six defended, with Husk rolling his eyes. The Courier sighed and continued. "I'm going to go find something more fitting. You all brainstorm over the plan."

"You're not going to get a disguise without my money." Cherri said.

"And there's no way in hell I'm missing dress-up!" Angel continued.

"Fine. Maybe you two can help me get a sense of this place's bizarre fashion." Six nodded, as the three soon left, though Cherri bomb hung back, holding the door open for herself as she did.

"We meet back here tomorrow, around noon should work." She informed, before quickly leaving.

Niffty, Vaggie, and Husk sat alone for a moment before the small, one eyed demon spoke.

"So, do any of you think this'll work?" She asked.

"There's no way in Hell this works." Husk said casually.

Vaggie sighed in response.

"For Charlie's sake, I hope it does..." She said under her breath.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Author's Note: I truly apologize to those of you who have waited much too long for this chapter to arrive. I don't wish to blather on much about how bad everything's been the past year, as this is a website to sit down and have fun without worrying much about the horrors of the real world._**

**_That aside, this is my first fanfiction and I fully intend on finishing it. Newer chapters hopefully shouldn't take as long to come out as this one has. I've just been stuck in a rut as of late. However, I don't wish to bore you much more, and long, drawn out author's notes such as this will not be common for my story. I will also apologize if it seems as if this chapter jumps around a bit, pieces of were written on and off over the course of the past year._**

**_Thank you all for your reviews and continued support. It truly means a lot to me._**

* * *

"Well this is stupid..." Six growled as he looked over his new outfit choice, with the Courier finding it hard to break away from the armor he'd worn for who knows how long now. It had been about two days since he and his group had made a proper plan for dealing with Mike, and currently they were all out finding disguises. He himself was stuck with a certain spider.

He was in a changing room, while Angel stood outside, waiting at the thin door that separated him from the demons' view. Angel himself tried prying said door open multiple times, but Six himself had made sure to lock it as he pondered over what to wear. Six was actually surprised that there was some semblance of decency left in Hell, though he supposed some demons were moderately civilized no matter what, though it wasn't like he was complaining.

He went for something simple, taking a black suit and tie combo. It reminded him of the many pre-war suits he'd come across, though this one was obviously pristine by comparison, with not a speck of dust or dirt anywhere on it. He slowly began removing his riot gear, exposing his tanned skin to the air. He briefly gazed at his scar covered body in a large mirror nearby, before shrugging the image off. There were dozens if not hundreds of scars covering him. As a matter of fact, it seemed as if he had more scar tissue covering him than undamaged skin. He didn't mind much though, given he'd seen them enough to be more than familiar with them.

He neatly folded his riot gear, before setting it aside, along with him placing his helmet on top of the neatly folded armor. Beside his armor, he sat his Pip-Boy, and beside that, he sat his boots. Now he had an all black suit covering him, along with some black dress shoes. He also had the foresight to bring a pair of black leather gloves. He didn't know if they checked for fingerprints in Hell, but he'd wear these to make sure. Aside from that he put on a pair of darkened sun glasses. He looked over himself in the mirror. Despite taking as many precautions as he could to hide his face, he still felt as if something was missing.

He ran his right hand over the scars adorning his face. The strange texture of the leather made him feel unsure about his disguise. Thus, he had one last idea. He reached into a pouch in his riot gear, before pulling out a small, vial of red liquid. It was something he'd learned from the tribes of Zion.

It was red war paint. While something would've been seen as barbaric and out of style in the modern day, in the apocalypse, such an item had been reintroduced. A strange idea, the new inhabitants of the Wasteland, using centuries old traditions to rise from the ashes of a modern world.

Regardless, the Courier soon was painting as much of his face as he could with the red face paint. He soon looked almost like a demon himself, though of course, he only had enough of said paint for his face and most of his neck. He also left his eyelids barren of the paint, due to the sunglasses covering them.

His face was soon fully coated in the liquid, and the Courier looked over himself one last time, before nodding. He then went to leave the dressing room. However, the second he opened the door, Angel Dust fell face first onto the Courier. The spider had been leaning against the door the second the mailman opened it. Six stumbled, but didn't fall as he growled, pushing the spider back, to which the demon gave an embarrassed chuckle.

"What the hell were you doing?" Six growled. "There's not even a peephole anywhere around here."

"W-wait, you checked?" Angel asked, making the Courier facepalm. "Eh, anyways, what's with the get up? You lather yourself in paint or something?" Said Angel, reaching to poke at the Six's face, only for the Courier to grab his hand. Angel cringed at the strong grip, before the wastelander huffed and gently shoved him away.

"It's not fully dry yet." He said. "If I want to blend in, I can't have my skin tone all runny now can I?"

Angel stared at him in silence for a second, before nodding and giving a teasing smirk.

"I get ya… but jeez, you ain't gotta be that rough… not yet at least." Said the spider.

"Oh shut it and let's get going." The Courier said, giving a shrug, before he grabbed his typical armor, gathered it into a large bag and walked past the spider. However, he paused, and quickly turned to Angel midway through.

"Uh… you have me covered, right?" Six asked.

"Yeah sure. With Cherri's money of course." Angel responded, giving a small chuckle.

"Nice." Said Six, before using his freehand to make a finger gun gesture at the spider.

"W-What are you doing?" Angel asked, looking at the gesturing, glasses wearing wastelander.

"It's like… a gesture friends use to signal to each other… right?" Six asked, still holding the finger gun.

"I mean, yeah, but… why?" Angel responded.

"I thought it'd look cool." Six shrugged, finally dropping his imaginary weapon/greeting.

"You're like one of those dads who attempt to act "hip with the kids" aren't you?" Angel asked.

"I mean I-You know what, let's just go and get back to Cherri." The Courier said, interrupting himself.

"Yeah, let's just do that, before she gets pissed." Angel said, before the two continued on.

* * *

_Hazbin's lobby, a few hours later_

"You know, I doubt this'll be an effective disguise." Husk said, as he put on a small, white masquerade mask. Given that his normal attire was similar to that of a suit. His outfit didn't change much, though the same couldn't be said of his companions.

Niffty was in a fancy white dress, which sparkled like a diamond, while her hair was put back into a tiny ponytail. Vaggie herself wore a similar dress, though hers was a deep crimson, and her hair still hung down as normal.

"Remind me why I have to wear a dress again?" She asked, turning to Angel.

"Well, since everyone else is dressed up, it'd just look weird if you didn't have one." He said.

"But I'm going to be cooped up in a van the whole night." Vaggie responded.

"Doesn't mean you shouldn't look fabulous!" Responded the spider demon.

"Why aren't you wearing an outfit then?" She asked.

"Oh baby, trust me, I don't need an outfit to look my best." He said, running a hand down his curvy body.

Vaggie just responded by shaking her head while growling in annoyance, before the Courier walked up to the duo.

"So, the van's big enough to fit everyone, right?" Six asked, looking between the duo, his darkened shades stuck out against his now red face and made it easier to see that the black lenses were reflecting the two's images.

"Yeah, don't worry, I made sure to steal-er… I got it from a good dealer." Angel said with a wink, making the Courier sigh, though the wastelander didn't comment further.

"Good, we've got what, an hour left before the party?" He questioned, getting a nod from Vaggie, who checked a small, fancy looking pocket watch.

"Well, a bit over that but yeah, we've got time." She confirmed.

"Alright… Where's Cherri?" He asked, looking around.

"Ah, she's just outside, making sure the backup plan is ready." Assured Angel.

"Backup plan?" Six asked.

"Don't worry about it." Said the spider with a smile, though the Courier could see a bit of psychopathic glee in said grin. Regardless, he nodded and continued on, going over everyone's outfits and such.

"Everyone know their places?" The Courier said as the group gathered round, with the wastelander, getting nods from the lot, apart from Husk, who shrugged in affirmation.

"Good… let's get to it." Six said, before the "criminal masterminds" exited the hotel's lobby.

The second they did however, what they saw gave them pause. Instead of a decent looking getaway vehicle, what was parked in front of Hazbin was an old, beaten up white van. Well, it would be white, had it not been for the excessive amount of dirt covering practically every inch of it. As it was, it was more of a dirty beige color, with splotches of dirt here and there.

It didn't help that said van's bumpers both looked like they were about to fall off simultaneously, and the wheels were covered in dried mud. The few windows on the already crappy looking vehicle were cracked, or practically gone. Instantly the whole group turned to Angel, who gave a nervous smile.

"Hey… it was on 'sale.'" He assured, before Husk threw his hands into the air in annoyance.

"I knew I should've gotten a limo from Charlie..." Vaggie said, rubbing the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

"Alright, I'm not even wasting my time on this shit." Husk growled and turned to leave, though Niffty grabbed onto his wrist, using her surprising strength to keep him in place.

"Oh come on Husk, it won't be that bad… with a few… dozen trips to the car wash..." She tried to assure, though the tiny demoness herself was faltering.

Suddenly though, one of the back doors of the crapmobile opened up, and out hopped Cherri Bomb.

"Alright!" She began loudly, catching everyone's attention. "I know this looks shitty… but on further inspection, I've found it's not THAT bad." Assured the criminal.

"How so?" Asked the Courier, going up to investigate the van. He'd seen cars in better condition back in the Mojave, and that was saying something, considering almost all of those were scrap metal husks that'd barely even qualify as a vehicle.

He looked into the interior of the van and found it was relatively clean, though barren, with only two seats at the front. Riding with the whole crew would be a bit of a bitch, however, he saw why it wasn't exactly "that bad." Six gave a long, impressed whistle and spoke.

"That plan B?" He asked, his tone sounded just as impressed as his whistle. As he spoke, something shiny glinted off of his glasses.

"Yeah. Took a bit of work and a bit of time crunching, but I got it done." Cherri said.

"Maybe this plan can work after all..." Six mused with a smile.

* * *

_A block away from Mike Hawk's hotel party_

"You think you would've gotten an extra seat or two through this whole plan!" Complained Husk, as he was huddled up in the back of the van, with both Six and Angel Dust squishing into either side of him as they had to make room for "Plan B."

"Oh quit your bitching. A bit of skin to skin contact won't kill ya!" Responded Cherri, who was also in the back, though she had her own side of the van, while the three men were stuck together. In the front was Niffty in the passenger seat, a seat belt wrapped around her tiny body and Vaggie, who was driving.

The winged demon cringed as they took a sharp turn, and Angel pressed into him, making Husk growl out of instinct. He felt the spider's overly soft hair rub against his own skin and jerked away, only to slam into the tuxedo clad Courier.

"Watch it." Said the wastelander, himself shifting away from Husk before he glanced out of the windows on the van's back doors. "We've only got a few more minutes and we're free."

After that, the group went silent, though Husk still fidgeted here and there as he felt squished in between the wastelander and the perverted spider. A few minutes later they stopped in an alleyway a little under a block away from the hotel that the event was to take place in. Husk himself rushed out the van's back door, taking deep breaths as he dusted himself off. Angel and the Courier exited next, followed by Cherri and Niffty.

"We are never doing anything like this ever again." Husk growled.

"Oh shut it." Cherri growled, as the Courier straightened his tie. As he did, he seemed to make sure the material was firm as he tugged at it. Finding it to his satisfaction, he nodded as he, Husk, and Niffty split off from Angel and Cherri.

The three soon were waiting in a moderately long line in front of the hotel. There were about twenty people in it when the three arrived and as they waited, about a dozen more wound up behind the Courier. Some gave him an odd look, given his war paint made his skin look a bit like it was cracking, but everytime he gave them a smile, showing his equally dried, dehydrated looking lips, they typically turned away or ignored him. It was Hell after all, and for some, skin care wasn't the most important thing.

"Next!" Called the red, muscular demon standing as a bouncer.

"Alright, time to shine..." Six said as he looked over the guard.

He towered over the Courier by a few feet, though Six still knew he could take something that big if needed. Niffty was ahead of the two men, thus she went first. She stood at the demon's feet, and gave him a small smile and wave. She instantly was accepted into the party by the large monster as the Courier nodded. Husk then approached the large creature, who looked over the dog-like demon for a second. He even patted the winged demon down quickly, though it wasn't the most thorough search, likely due to Husk growling.

"Hmm… what's with the mask?" He asked, looking at Husk's masquerade mask.

"What?" The winged demon said.

"I feel like you're a bit suspicious with it on..." Responded the bigger demon.

"What good is a mask going to do? I'm willing to bet I'm the only cat with wings for a solid mile." Responded Husk.

"Wait, you're a cat?" Asked the guard, getting an annoyed look and silence from the apparent cat demon… who just so happened to look like a Husky.

After a moment of silence and hesitation, the guard soon nodded, letting Husk in, before calling for the Courier. After quickly patting him down, he spoke.

"Jeez, you should really put on some lotion." Said the guard.

"I will, I just… have a condition." Said the Courier.

"Is it spreadable? I don't want you getting me sick." Responded the demon, wiping his hands on his pants.

"If I were contagious, I wouldn't be here." The wastelander retorted.

"Alright… What's with the glasses?" Questioned the demon.

"They're my lucky shades sir… I was hoping to get them autographed by Mike Hawk himself." Said Six, pulling out a white marker.

The demon stared at him for a moment, before finally nodding as Six smiled and entered. As he walked into the decent sized lobby, he was hit with a sense of familiarity for some of the casinos he'd been to on the New Vegas strip. This hotel itself was two stories, with the second one being on a large overhanging balcony that overlooked the entire ground floor.

Aside from that, there were dozens of tables on both floors, covered in fine silverware, candles, and such. What caught the Courier's eyes the most though were the vases of strange, exotic looking flowers. The botanist in him wanted to see if they had more features beyond looking pretty or acted identically to those back on Earth, but he just kept interest bottled up in him as he continued on.

However what he saw next was also quite familiar. It was a decently sized stage, with a microphone and several instruments strewn about. However, at the moment, said stage seemed free reign. There was even a decently sized television screen behind said stage that read.

"**No band tonight**

**Karaoke welcome!**"

The Courier just continued on, and he soon met back up with Husk and Niffty who were waiting at a small circular table draped with a deep red, yet silky smooth looking table cloth. Sat atop said table cloth were several decent sized champagne glasses, each one filled with various samplings of the finest wine and champagne that Hell had to offer.

The Courier, though desiring to try said drinks, found himself abstaining, given if his lips became runny with paint, his disguise would be blown. This of course, didn't stop Husk from soon downing an entire glass and moving onto another.

"Alright, look, you might not wanna be chugging that stuff while we're on the job." Six said, merely getting a hand wave from the winged demon.

"Oh if you think any of this light weight shit is gonna make a dent in me, you're out of your fucking mind." Responded Husk.

"Look, there'll be a time for booze later, for now, stick to your plans." Six said, before Niffty began gently tugging at one of his pant legs.

"Ohh, if I'm doing distraction, does that mean I can go sing karaoke now?" She asked like an excited child would, pointing at the stage Six had examined earlier.

"Well, you got your piece on you for when things go south?" Six asked, before she smiled and flashed a snub nose revolver at him.

"Alright, go ahead and get to singing, Husk, go take out a waiter. Once you're nice and dressed, spike the drink after fifteen minutes." Said Six, before quickly turning and walking away.

"What the hell are you doing?" Asked Husk.

"Going off book really quick. Don't worry, I've got a back up if things go to shit." Said the Courier, before quickly walking away.

As he did, Husk watched as Niffty practically pushed a guy off of the microphone and lowered it to her level. She then began her song.

* * *

Six quickly found himself on the second floor of the large, open ballroom, looking down on the many well dressed guests with his keen eyes. Even through his glasses he was quite skilled in noticing smaller details others might miss.

He watched as a few guards kept watch on the ground floor, and made sure to memorize as much of their patterns as he could. There were about eight or so he could make out at the moment, one for each corner of the building, and then another four for each flat side. They seemed to be moderately stagnant, though they did walk around every few seconds, about a dozen feet apiece.

He then looked around and found that the guards on the top layer were more sparse, with two or three walking around. However, he did note one was standing right next to a metal door that read simply.

"**Employees Only.**"

In big, bright red letters.

"Perfect." Six mused. As he inconspicuously made his way over to the room.

Soon enough he was only about a foot or so from the door, sampling a plate of small cubes of cheese and meat. He had to admit that the food was good, but he did wonder what it was made from, given that the animals in Hell likely were quite different from the Mohave's Bighorners and Brahmin.

However, once all eyes were off him, he dropped a piece of meat under the table. After acting surprised, the Courier quickly ducked under said table in an attempt to retrieve the meat. However, the second he was out of sight, he quickly pulled out a small, strange looking device.

It was a wrist worn device with a large, satellite looking dish sticking up from it. Said dish also refracted light like that of a disco ball. Several small buttons beeped along the device, right beneath a keypad of several buttons.

The device was a Stealth Boy.

"Alright, go time." Six said, psyching himself up before...

He vanished.

Well, vanished isn't the proper term. More aptly, all light coming towards him was reflected back, giving him the impression of being invisible. Six then quickly rolled back out from under the table, disturbing the cloth as little as possible as he did, before he quickly yet carefully made his way over to the employee's door. As he did, he listened in on the guard.

"Yeah, Mike, get over here, I'm on lunch." Said the demon, making the Courier smile as the demon turned away, likely watching out for his buddy.

As he did this, the Courier soon was picking at the lock on the door. While said lock was quite secure, compared to his lock cracking skills, it stood no chance, and moments later, the door swung inward, letting the Courier slip into the guards room.

"What the hell? This lock busted or something?" Asked another demon guard who had just arrived, likely Mike, if the other one was to be believed.

"Dunno, it's your problem for the next forty minutes. I'm gonna get some of that champagne." Said the other guard, before Mike shut the door, leaving the Courier alone.

He looked around and found himself in a long, relatively dark and dingy hallway, lined with several doors. He slowly made his way through the hall, looking through each. The first was a broom closet, and contained nothing of interest. Though the Courier did check to see if there was Abraxo cleaner, and wound up quite disappointed to find nothing.

Regardless, he moved on and searched the second room. This one seemed to be a guard lounge. However, inside it was only dimly lit by a small, boxy television set. Said television illuminated a massive demoness sitting on a couch obviously too small for her.

She reminded Six of a combination of a deathclaw and an amazoness from the legends of old. She was wearing a guard uniform, though said uniform struggled against her bulging muscles. The only things that gave away the fact the large demon was a female was her long ponytail and the fact she soon swore.

"That cheap bastard better get a brand new TV from Vox or I'm putting my boot up his ass." She growled.

Six slowly crept out of the way of the door frame as he continued on.

* * *

_Meanwhile with Husk_

The winged demon stood in a bathroom, keeping an eye out for a waiter to enter. While he waited he attempted to be as inconspicuous as possible, and was thus leaning up against a nearby wall, checking his phone as he did.

Thankfully, he got lucky, and soon enough a waiter did indeed enter. Given the two were alone, it didn't take Husk long to walk up behind the employee and give him a hard punch to the back of the head. Instantly the waiter went down, and after a moment of hesitation to make sure he was out like a light, Husk quickly dragged him into a nearby stall, where he stole the waiter's vest.

With his disguise in place, Husk took his flask out and swished it, making sure it was still completely filled with the Courier's poison. After affirming the brew was ready, Husk made his way back out of the bathroom and into the lower dining hall.

* * *

_Back with the Courier_

Six entered the last door in the guard's quarters that he hadn't checked and finally found something worth investigating. A guard sat in an office chair, looking over a series of cameras. Thankfully though, he had earbuds in, and the Courier was easily able to sneak into the room.

The currently invisible man then reached an arm over the back of the office chair, letting him lock the guard in a choke hold. He struggled, of course, but given the Courier's physical prowess and the fact he'd done this almost a dozen times, it wasn't long before the guard went limp in the Courier's arm.

After making sure the demon was breathing, the Courier then shoved him and his chair aside, before looking over the camera footage. He saw Niffty, still singing on stage and smiled, seeing she had attracted a large crowd. He then soon found Husk, who'd dawned a waiter's vest. While he didn't know if the cat demon would be called out, he figured that the disguise could give the demon some leeway.

Regardless, he quickly found a computer and looked it over, being extremely impressed by the technology on display. The slimer design of it put the ones he'd found back in the Mojave to shame and it seemed a bit more complex to operate. Thankfully he was able to quickly crack the password to it. Moments later, every camera in the building had been shut down, and the footage erased.

While one would call it a case of paranoia, even in Hell, the Courier liked to make sure there'd be no loose ends to the job. Though of course, in his hacking vigor, he didn't notice as the large demoness from earlier come in until she was right at the door.

"Hey Phil, the remote's out of batteries, I ne-" She paused as she walked to find her fellow guard unconscious...

Then the Courier's Stealth Boy deactivated.

"Fucking bullshit." He growled, cursing his Luck.


End file.
